‘Airport robbers’ linked to crimes
Police confirmed on Wednesday that the two so-called airport robbers who were shot and killed on Sunday were positively linked with 16 other crimes.
The so-called airport robbers shot and killed in the Moot on Sunday have been linked to 16 other crimes.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said Tyson Mdluli (43) and Benson Kalusi (40) were both awaiting trial. Their involvement in other criminal cases were ascertained through their fingerprints.
“Kalusi was awaiting trial for nine crimes and has been linked to four other cases…in the Johannesburg and surrounding areas, committed between 2006 and 2013,” Naidoo said.
“Mdluli was awaiting trial for three crimes also in the Johannesburg and surrounding areas committed between 2011 and 2013.”
Most of these cases involved armed robberies and crimes that included attempted murder and the possession of stolen property.
A third robber who was shot and wounded had not been linked to any other crimes.
The three men ended up in a shootout with police on Sunday as they were trying to rob people who had just arrived at a house in the Moot from OR Tambo International airport.
The indications were that three could have followed their intended victims from the airport. A police team pounced on them after receiving a tip-off that an armed robbery was to be committed in the Moot.
Naidoo said the wounded man would be charged with two counts of murder, armed robbery, and five counts of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of unlicensed ammunition and possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega praised the team. “Our officers place their lives on the line daily to track and arrest such robbers and this case is no different,” she said.
“The lengthy charge sheet of these suspects is a clear indication of the ruthless calibre of these suspects and I thank God that our colleagues were able to escape this life threatening situation unscathed.”
Also read:
Three alleged so-called airport robbers shot dead
One robber in hospital, two dead
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