Durban — Two men travelling in a stolen vehicle were arrested in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday. The owner of the vehicle had been hijacked, killed and buried in a shallow grave near a river.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said that in the early hours of Thursday morning, Cetshwayo District Task Team SAPS members received information about two men travelling in a stolen vehicle from Nongoma towards Mtubatuba. The vehicle was spotted near Nkodibe and intercepted.
“Upon questioning the occupants of the vehicle, it was discovered that none of the occupants owned the vehicle.
“The suspects, both aged 34, were arrested on the spot. The team conducted further investigation and it was established that the owner of the vehicle was allegedly hijacked on January 19, 2024, and killed. His body was buried in the Nongoma area,” Gwala said.
She said that on Friday, various role players in the SAPS proceeded to the identified area at Embonjeni in Nongoma to search for the body of the victim.
“With the assistance of a K9, the shallow grave was pointed out near the river where the body of the victim was buried.
“The partially decomposed body of a 46-year-old man was exhumed. Charges of murder and car hijacking were opened at Nongoma,” Gwala said.
The suspects appeared in the KwaMsane Magistrate’s Court on Friday where they were remanded in custody.
“They will reappear in the Nongoma Magistrate’s Court soon,” Gwala said.
Last month after several hijackings were reported, King Cetshwayo District Economic Infrastructure Task Team officers gathered intelligence about the suspects believed to be behind the crimes.
Police said that intelligence led the officers to a student accommodation in the Mtunzini-Dlangezwa area where a suspect was arrested on Saturday night, January 7.
He was found in illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The team proceeded to KwaMthethwa Reserve in Empangeni where two more suspects were arrested after they were found to be in possession of a signal jammer as well as an unlicensed firearm and a set of gloves.
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