KZN cops swoop on gang performing 'crime cleansing ceremony'

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DURBAN - A gang of alleged robbers who had been undergoing a “cleansing ceremony” for the crimes they had allegedly committed were bust by police who discovered an arsenal of weapons on them. Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Police Tactical Response Team, K9 Unit and Public Order Police swooped on the 12 man gang at a homestead in the KwaGqikazi area near Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. According to police, communities members who had grown suspicious of the activities at the homestead alerted police who set in motion an intelligence driven operation. “Police stormed the homestead taking the men by surprise,” police spokesman, Brigadier Jay Naicker said. “Police seized a stolen vehicle as well as six AK47 rifles, two Luger rifles, an R5 rifle, a revolver, two pistols and more than 120 rounds of ammunition,” he said.

Naicker said initial investigations indicated that one of the pistols was taken during a robbery on a business in the Vryheid earlier this month, while the vehicle they were in possession of was stolen from Diepkloof, Johannesburg in February this year.

Some of the arsenal of guns police found on a 12 man gang near Ulundi on Tuesday. PICS: KZN Police Media Centre

“Detectives are confident that they might be responsible for a number of high profile murders and robberies committed in the province recently,” Naicker added.

The 12 men aged between 23 and 46 were charged for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition as well as possession of stolen property. They were expected to appear in the Ulundi Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The arrest was praised by KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa.

“These suspects are being profiled and I am hopeful that they will be linked to the recent spate of serious and violent crimes in the province. Their firearms will be subjected to ballistic tests to ascertain if they were used in the commission of any crimes. We wish to extend our gratitude to those members of the community who conveyed their suspicions to local police. It is only through this type of community participation that we can win the war on crime,” Langa said.

Daily News