Eight robbery suspects arrested after Ballito shoot-out

File picture: SAPS (Twitter)

File picture: SAPS (Twitter)

Published Oct 24, 2020

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Durban - Eight suspected armed robbers have been arrested after three of them were wounded in a shoot-out with South African Police Service (SAPS) officers following a business robbery in Ballito, north of Durban, the SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal said on Saturday.

SAPS officers from Umhlali, Inanda, KwaDukuza, and Phoenix conducted an intelligence-driven operation, searching for robbery suspects at Inanda, Newtown A, on Friday afternoon, KwaZulu-Natal SAPS spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said in a statement.

Police identified a house on Ntiyane Road and instructed the occupants to open the door. However, gunshots were fired at the police officers and three men were wounded in a subsequent shoot-out.

"Police arrested eight men and three of them were taken to hospital under police guard. The suspects, aged between 21 and 24, were detained at Inanda police station and will be charged for attempted murder, possession of [illegal] firearms, and possession of suspected stolen property."

Mbele said that at about 2.50 am on Friday morning, a security guard was accosted by a group of men at a business premises in Ballito who then tied him up, using cable ties.

"The suspects entered the business premises and loaded liquor boxes into their getaway vehicle. They also broke into another premises where they stole a number of cameras. Robbery and burglary cases were opened at Umhlali police station for investigation."

Police commenced their investigation which led to the arrest of the suspects and the recovery of some of the stolen items. The suspects would appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrates' Court on Monday and would face further charges of robbery and burglary, Mbele said.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula said he was pleased that the police officers involved were not injured or wounded in the shoot-out.

African News Agency (ANA)

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