Durban - A man believed to be the leader of a notorious gang that has been terrorising communities across Durban – robbing them at gunpoint and hijacking cars – was killed by police after a car chase and shoot-out on the M25 near KwaMashu on Wednesday.
Nkululeko Sithole, 23, alleged leader of the Casper Gang, was wanted for robberies in Durban North, Westville, Mayville, Bellair, Pinetown and Umbilo and on the Bluff.
Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said the gang had hijacked a car and were then spotted by police on the highway.
The dog unit tried to stop the gang on the M25, but they sped away, he said.
“The police chased the car and the three suspects started shooting and the officers returned fire,” he said.
When the police were closing in, the gang stopped on the side of the road and ran into the bush, firing at police with R4 rifles.
Sithole was chased by a police dog then shot and killed during the pursuit. His two accomplices escaped.
Mdunge declined to confirm Sithole’s identity, saying his next of kin had yet to be notified.
His victims would remember him from the high-speed chase with the Brighton Beach police after his gang had robbed a house in Kingsley Road on the Bluff, a policeman said on Wednesday.
He was also sought for the April car chase and shoot-out that started in Pietermaritzburg, continued through Pinetown and ended in Chesterville where he and his accomplices abandoned the car and disappeared between the shacks.
A policeman who has been chasing the Casper Gang for months described them as “ruthless” and “extremely dangerous”.
“If the victims got in their way, they hurt them,” he said.
“I have chased Casper (Sithole) several times after a house robbery, and we have had gun fights, but he was always ahead.”
For the last two weeks the gang was operating in Durban North, Umbilo and Mayville, the policeman said.
“We intend approaching a judge for a warrant to publish the rest of the gang’s pictures and names in the media,” he said.
Robin Candy, of the Greenwood Park community police forum, said he was aware that Sithole was a wanted man.
“Residents can feel a little safer, he said.”
Candy said Durban North had been hit hard by crime in the past week with eight incidents reported.
“Robbers are quite willing to shoot and that makes it very difficult for residents,” he said.
“There’s no deterrent from the justice system.”
The situation was not helped by the decrease in informers who trusted police, he said.
In the recent spate of incidents, armed robbers forced their way into homes, making off with anything from jewellery to digital appliances.
In the latest incident, a gang of five held a domestic worker and a child at gunpoint in Monteith Place, Durban North, on Monday.
Another domestic worker had also been held up and robbed by a gang of five in Marine View Avenue in Umgeni Park last Friday.
Blue Security managing director Darryn le Grange urged Durban North residents to join their neighbourhood watch.
“Crime in the upper highway area was being brought under control due to an increased police presence in recent weeks and because residents joined forces with security companies. Syndicates are now looking elsewhere for targets,” he said, explaining that they moved on as residents stepped up their security systems.
The Mercury