Pretoria – Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has commended the multidisciplinary team which conducted a take-down operation in KwaZulu-Natal at about 3am today in pursuit Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela – dubbed Gauteng’s most wanted suspect.
Biyela, who had been linked to eight cases including the murder of a police officer in October last year, was killed in a shootout with police this morning.
“The team that traced Biyela to Sahlumbe (Ematsheleni) village in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal, comprised of provincial members from serious and violent crimes, a tracking team, Soweto district crime intelligence, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal tactical response teams,” Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.
“The team approached the house where Biyela was hiding but when he spotted them, he started firing shots towards the team members who were forced to retaliate. Biyela was fatally wounded. None of the members sustained injuries.”
She said the team found an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in the house.
“Biyela was previously arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for murder in August 2020 and October 2021 but he managed to escape from custody,” said Muridili.
Police had positively linked Biyela to five murders in Jabulani that were committed between October 2021 and March this year.
He was linked to a Lenasia hijacking, which took place in December 2017. He was also linked to another Lenasia South case of possession of an unlicensed firearm, as well as a KwaZulu-Natal murder in August 2020.
On May 29, police in Gauteng issued a reward of up to R100 000 for information which would assist in Biyela’s arrest and conviction.
Gauteng police chief Mawela saluted community members who provided the police with information related to the crimes.
“We, as the police in Gauteng, have committed to entrenching ourselves into our communities to realise the ideal of community policing, we made a call to anyone with information on the whereabouts of one of our most wanted suspect and the calls that we received have assisted us a lot,” said Mawela.
“Thank you to the public, as together we have ensured the end of Biyela’s reign of terror.”
IOL