LIMPOPO – Seven male suspects aged between 24 and 44 are expected to appear in the Giyani Magistrate’s Court soon, following their arrest in connection with a violent robbery that recently took place at Hlaneki Mine, which led to the recovery of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, and suspected stolen property.

Armed ambush leaves security guard dead, another injured

The arrests are linked to a serious incident that occurred on April 24 in Hlaneki village, where a group of eight armed suspects ambushed security guards at Hlaneki Mine. During the attack, the suspects shot and wounded two security guards before robbing them of a firearm and two cellphones.

One of the security officers later succumbed to his injuries, while the other was taken to a local clinic for treatment.

Cases of murder, robbery, and assault were subsequently opened at the Giyani Police Station, who later arrested one suspect alleged to have been the driver of the getaway vehicle.

Multi-disciplinary police operation leads to arrests

About two weeks later, acting on intelligence, a multidisciplinary team comprising the Mopani Tracking Team, Highway Patrol, Mopani Infrastructure, and Mahosi Security executed a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the remaining seven suspects on Tuesday.

This comes after a silver Hyundai linked to the incident was identified, monitored, and tactically intercepted along the R81 road opposite Kremetart in the Giyani CBD.

Firearms, ammunition and stolen items recovered

Upon searching the vehicle, police recovered four unlicensed firearms and 95 rounds of live ammunition, including 75 revolver rounds and 20 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Further investigations confirmed that two cellphones recovered from the vehicle belonged to the security officers who were attacked during the robbery.

Preliminary ballistic analysis has also linked two of the recovered firearms to cases reported in Giyani in April this year and another incident in Welkom that occurred in August last year.

Suspects face multiple charges as probe continues

All seven suspects are facing charges of possession of unlicensed firearms, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of suspected stolen property, and contravening the Immigration Act, as six of the suspects are foreign nationals from Lesotho.

Commenting on the arrest, provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe, commended the members for the breakthrough and collaborative efforts.

“This arrest marks a significant milestone in ensuring accountability for the brutal robbery. The recovery of firearms and ammunition is critical to preventing further violent crimes and advancing our investigations into related cases,” said Hadebe.

Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing to link the suspects to more criminal activities. Additional charges, including murder and robbery, are expected to be added as the case progresses.