Swift reaction by police officers acting on information, lead to the arrest of a man believed to be responsible for the death of a detective stationed with the Reiger Park police in Boksburg.

Detective Sergeant Maxwell Siweya was killed at Joe Slovo hostel in Boksburg on March 26.

He died on the scene after he was allegedly shot by two suspects he was tracking as part of an investigation into a shoot-out the previous week.

According to Reiger Park police spokesperson, Constable Zanele Motaung, the suspect was nabbed at about 07:00 on March 31 on the N1 highway in the Free State.

“Two highway patrol officers, Sergeant Sereme Malebo and Constable Simon Nteba, who were conducting their usual stop-and-search duty on the highway, received a tip-off that the suspect was in a Quantam taxi travelling from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein.

 “The officers found the taxi in question on the side of the highway with a deflated tyre. They quickly called for back-up from the Kroonstad police and Welkom Tactical Response Team and, with the backup team, approached the vehicle.

“They searched the taxi and found the suspect, who was arrested and brought back to Reiger Park Police Station,” said Motaung.

The suspect appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on April 4, and the matter was postponed to April 11 to allow the suspect to get legal representation.

Siweya’s cousin was with him at the time of his murder. It is believed the suspects were aware of the detective’s presence in the area. They took his service pistol, cellphone and his cousin’s belongings before fleeing the scene.