Durban - The Endumeni Local Municipality mayor and two of his alleged accomplices were arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday by the Political Task Team after a plot to murder a colleague was uncovered.
Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) national spokesperson, said the trio were arrested in a pre-dawn raid with the assistance of the National Intervention Unit (NIU).
"Police had intercepted information of a plot to allegedly assassinate the Municipal Speaker. The three suspects - the mayor, a councillor and a hitman aged between 31 and 38 years old - planned an assassination plot against the Speaker who is alleged to be an obstacle in the awarding of a tender. It is understood the speaker allegedly suspected undue influence and possible corruption in the process," Mhlongo said.
The three suspects are expected to appear at the Escort Magistrate Court on Thursday for conspiracy to murder and other related charges.
Endumeni Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Umzinyathi District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa