A 30-year-old man, identified as one of KZN’s most wanted criminals, has been arrested in Johannesburg.

The suspect had been on the run in both Gauteng and KZN and faces multiple charges, including murder, possession of unlicensed firearms, and the attempted murder of two police officers.

Authorities had been attempting to apprehend him for several months. He failed to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in July on charges of possessing an unlicensed firearm. At that time, he was also wanted for a murder in KZN.

The arrest was made on Saturday during an intelligence-driven operation led by the Hawks’ Tactical Operations Management Section, with support from the KZN tracing team and Johannesburg’s Aggravated Robberies Unit.

The Hawks, along with the Pietermaritzburg Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, obtained a warrant and arrested the suspect near the George Koch hostel in Jeppe, Johannesburg.

The suspect will first appear in court in Johannesburg on the firearm charge, after which he will be transferred to KZN, where he faces additional charges related to two murders and attempted murder.