Durban North police have confirmed that no arrests have been made in the alleged assassination of a Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) engineer.

Northglen News reports Jacob Khoaele was shot and killed while driving on Shelbourne Avenue in La Lucia last Wednesday.

Police recovered 18 cartridges at the scene.

It is alleged that Khoaele, a local resident, was on a call when a vehicle pulled alongside his Ford Ranger and opened fire.

In a statement last week, Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran expressed sadness over the murder.

“Jacob was a valued member of our team, and his contributions are greatly appreciated. He played a pivotal role in the rail recovery programme. He was a talented engineer, and his masters thesis on regenerative braking in metrorail trains reflected his passion for his work and profession. Jacob will be greatly missed by all of us who had the privilege of working with him,” said Emeran.

Emeran added that the matter was now in the hands of the police and other law enforcement agencies.

This marks the third high-profile shooting in Durban North in recent months.

In December, local businessman Shailen Singh (32) was gunned down while seated in his vehicle on Meridian Drive. Two brothers were later arrested in connection with the murder.

In July last year, SARS advocate Coreth Naude survived an attempted hit when two gunmen opened fire at her at the entrance of a hotel in uMhlanga. She managed to drive herself to hospital, and two suspects were arrested in December in Cape Town in connection with the crime.