NELSPRUIT – The five suspects were arrested at KaMhlushwa on Friday by a joint team of various disciplines within the South African Police Services in the Tonga cluster.

“The arrests follow shortly after a foreign national was attacked and robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash and airtime vouchers earlier on at Schoemansdal. The victim was shot several times in the body and had to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention, ” said police spokesperson in Mpumalanga Colonel Mtsholi Bhembe.

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Bhembe said police swiftly responded and launched an investigation, which in turn led them to the hideout of the five suspects in KaMhlushwa.

“During the arrest, police seized several items, among them, three firearms with serial numbers filed off, live ammunition, an undisclosed amount of cash, cellphones, airtime vouchers and dangerous weapons,” said Bhembe.

According to the police the suspects may be responsible for a spate of the recent house and business robberies committed within the Nkomazi area.

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“The hardest hit area is Mzinti near Tonga, where four house robberies were committed within hours on Monday morning, last week,” concluded Bhembe.