JOHANNESBURG - Three of the most wanted suspects believed to be involved in several cases of minibus taxi violence and murder across two provinces have been arrested in Gauteng, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the province said on Saturday.
The suspects, who had been linked to a number of cases of taxi violence in which most of the victims were murdered in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, had been arrested by SAPS officers in Benoni in Ekurhuleni on the East Rand on Friday, Captain Mavela Masondo said in a statement.
Police received information that the suspects might be in Benoni and kept a close observation. At about 11.30 am on Friday morning, the suspects were spotted driving in a silver grey Nissan Qhashqai SUV and police officers intercepted the vehicle.
The suspects, 22, 29, and 35 years of age respectively, were taken back to the flat they were occupying. Upon searching the flat, police found two rifles, seven ammunition magazines, and a large quantity of ammunition for different high calibre firearms, Masondo said.
"The main suspect led the police to Windmill Park in Vosloorus [also in Ekurhuleni], where an AK47 rifle, loaded with ammunition, was also recovered."
The suspects were linked to several cases of minibus taxi violence, including a case in which a taxi owner and his brother were shot dead in Protea Glen in Soweto in Johannesburg in July 2019 and a case in Cleveland in the east of Johannesburg in which a taxi owner and his driver were shot dead in nearby Kensington in March 2019.
The confiscated firearms would be taken for ballistic testing to determine whether they had been used in the commission of any crimes, Masondo said.
African News Agency