Earlier this week a large contingent of police members made their way to Kriel Magistrates Court for the appearance of six of the eight suspects apprehended during a shootout in Ga-Nala (Kriel).
The charges include attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms, possession of unlicensed ammunition, possession of stolen property and possession of explosives.
Mr Phehello Maleleka, state prosecutor, made a suggestion before court that the accused be kept in Bethal Prison where they may receive medical attention.
“The court orders that the accused receive medical treatment at Bethal Prison and not at a government hospital,” said Magistrate Hoffnie Wolmarans, after remanding the case for August 10 for bail application.
The six suspects were then taken back into custody.
One suspect was shot dead and two Hawks members injured during the shootout that took place in the residential area on Sunday, July 31.
With guns blazing, nine suspects thought to shoot their way out of the corner they had been backed into as members of the Hawks, Task Force, Police, Kriel CPF, Witbank 911, Kriel 911 and Middelburg 911 closed in on their location.
The Hawks had been investigating the gang’s criminal activities for some time. These activities included alleged hijackings, armed robberies and drug smuggling.
One of the vehicles that had been hijacked, a BMW, was fitted with a tracker and this lead to the Hawks having the scoop on the syndicate’s location in Bosbok Street. The house was being used as a front for a hijacking syndicate.
According to police, the Hawks were on their way from Pretoria to raid the house and were tailing a vehicle that had been hijacked earlier that Sunday morning. They saw the vehicle pull into the driveway of the house and approached the hideout.
The gunfire started the moment the Hawks van approached the yard – eyewitnesses described how two members of the Hawks jumped out of the white panel van and sought cover under their vehicle as the van was riddled with bullet holes.
The members were pinned at their position when local CPF members, police and a security company came to their aid.
During the shootout two members of the Hawks, Capt Boats Botha and Sgt Wynand Herbst suffered injury. Botha sustained a gunshot wound to his shoulder and Herbst was hit by shrapnel, injuring his left hand.
Police choppers circled the area as suspects attempted to flee the area by jumping the wall towards Impala Street.
One of the suspects was shot dead, his lifeless body lay in the driveway.
The joint effort raid resulted in the remaining eight suspects, four of which were injured, being apprehended as police searched both houses in Impala and Bosbok Streets. The search was successful as police found and confiscated explosives, an AK 47 assault rifle, a R1 rifle, and three R5 rifles, as well as a handgun and several bullet proof vests belonging to the air force, police and army. They also recovered a number of vehicles which included three BMWs, a Mazda Drifter, a Chrysler Voyager, and a Corsa bakkie.
Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Hawks, confirmed that eight suspects were apprehended on Sunday. There is a possibility that more suspects were involved.
*One of the suspects arrested on Sunday, Petra December Nkosi, is also believed to have had a hand in the SBV robbery of April 2014. He will appear in Middelburg High Court on August 26 for this case.
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