Two of the four suspects killed in Keiskammahoek during a shootout with police on Wednesday morning were on the radar of organised crime detectives as known kidnappers and part of a syndicate that sowed fear in the Eastern Cape.
According to police, members attached to the Tactical Response Team in Mdantsane and East London followed up information about suspects allegedly in possession of unlicensed firearms, and proceeded to Tshoxa village, Keiskammahoek.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said on arrival, the police struggled to enter the identified house due to a long boundary wall which they eventually managed to scale.
“As members were tactically entering the premises, the suspects tried to flee using back exits, but they were cornered and started shooting at the police.
“Members retaliated and during the process four suspects were fatally wounded and one sustained gunshot wounds and was taken to the nearest hospital.”
No officers were injured.
Reports later on Wednesday said bloodstains had been found in the house, though this could not be confirmed with police.
Transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha issued a statement saying: “The house had bloodstains, suggesting that it’s where victims [were] tortured.”
The injured suspect, aged 38, is under guard.
The details of the slain suspects, aged between 29 and 40, have been withheld by the police.
However, a police report seen by the Dispatch noted that two of them were suspected kidnappers.
At the scene, police uncovered information on the suspects’ cellphones pointing to kidnapping cases in the province.
A gold Toyota Hilux double cab found at the scene was reported stolen from Maitland, Cape Town, in May and a white Opel Corsa bakkie was stolen in Dimbaza, also in May.
The recovered vehicles are being kept in police storage in East London.
Three firearms, two .38 special revolvers and a 9mm pistol, were recovered.
The shootout happened less than two months after dramatic scenes in Kom village, Keiskammahoek — just 5km away — where five suspected cash-in-transit robbers were killed in a shootout with members of the Tactical Response Unit.
During that raid, police arrested the homeowner, former taxi boss Peter Mgunculu, 58, who owns a local rugby club, at the house.
Inside, police said they found automatic rifles, ammunition and bags of cash.
A resident from Tshoxa, who spoke to the Dispatch anonymously, said the house where Wednesday’s shootout took place had been occupied by a man and the owners lived elsewhere.
“It is a family house that is being kept by a young man.
“The guys there would visit frequently and they enjoyed partying with girls.
“They are not from here but we didn’t know they were up to shenanigans,” he said.
Eastern Cape provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nomthetheleli Mene said: “Police will always be hot on the heels of suspects to ensure the safety of law-abiding citizens.
“I commend members for their tactical acumen and their level of alertness during their tour of duty, as none of our members were injured.”
Premier Oscar Mabuyane commended the swift and decisive action taken by the police in dismantling the kidnapping syndicate.
“I strongly condemn the heinous kidnapping and torture activities that [allegedly] took place at a house in Keiskammahoek.
“Our law enforcement agencies acted swiftly, and I commend their bravery in responding to the suspects’ gunfire.
“Fortunately, no police members were injured during the operation.
“The discovery of bloodstains at the scene suggests that this house was used as a torture chamber, which is utterly unacceptable in our society.”
Mabuyane assured citizens that the provincial government would continue to work tirelessly to ensure communities were safe and warned criminals who engaged in criminal activities that they would face the full might of the law.
He also called on anyone with information that might lead to the discovery of a Cape Town tourist, Alize van der Merwe, 39, who was abducted while travelling to Umngazi Resort in Port St Johns over the weekend.
Van der Merwe’s hired vehicle was reportedly found abandoned not far from the resort.
An update from Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said the police were working tirelessly to return Van der Merwe to safety.
“All we can confirm now is that the abductors have come forward and requested a ransom. Our investigators are working around the clock to bring the victim to safety,” he said.
The Dispatch reported on Monday that at least eight people had been kidnapped across the Eastern Cape in the past three weeks.
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