MEHLOMNYAMA residents near St Faiths can breathe a small sigh of relief after several suspects were arrested in connection with crimes in the area.
Since February this year several cases have been reported in Mehlomnyama policing area where victims fell prey to armed robbery, attempted murder, murder, house robbery and rape.
The modus operandi in most of the cases was the same.
The perpetrators would kick open doors while victims were sleeping and fire shots at random, injuring and even killing some of the victims. They also raped some of the complainants.
“The community of Mehlomnyama was terrorised by this group of ruthless criminals,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid. A task team, comprising detectives from Mehlomnyama, St Faiths and Hibberdene, started investigating the cases intensively. With the assistance of Port Shepstone Public Order Policing (POP) and other SAPS units, a total of four suspects were later arrested during the first week of April 2017. Two suspects were arrested in Margate while another one was arrested in Mehlomnyama. A fourth one was arrested in the Durban area.
“They were all linked to some of the cases respectively and charged accordingly. They made court appearances and the cases have been postponed. Last Wednesday night the task team went to Durban and was assisted by officers from Durban. In KwaMakutha another two men were arrested for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm, (a pistol) and five rounds as well as a tablet,” she said.
A bakkie, believed to have been used in an armed robbery that was committed earlier that same night in Kwa Makutha, was recovered.
The three suspects appeared in court in KwaMakutha area for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, possession of stolen property (tablet) and possession of suspected stolen vehicle.
Two of the suspects were then later brought to Port Shepstone to appear in court for the various crimes which were committed in Mehlomnyama.
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They appeared in court last Tuesday and the case was postponed to next Tuesday, May 2. Detective Constable Thabane Dlamini from Mehlomnyama is the investigating officer. The cluster commander, Major General Sethenya Nxamagele, congratulated all the officers on their sterling work.
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