8 Killed in Shootout With Richards Bay Cops Planned Alleged Spaza Robbery, Linked to CIT Heist
- A group of suspects killed in a police shootout in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, were planning to hit a business
- Police followed up on intelligence information, intercepted and engaged the suspects on the way to eSikhaweni
- Eight suspects were killed in a deadly confrontation, while law enforcement linked them to a CIT heist in Mzingazi
Source: Original
RICHARDS BAY — Eight suspects killed during a gun battle with KwaZulu-Natal police had planned a business robbery in eSikhawini.
A preliminary investigation after the deadly confrontation in Richards Bay uncovered the alleged plot about 20km outside the city.
8 Killed in shootout with KZN cops
Law enforcement had followed up on information about the group's plan to rob a foreign national at his spaza shop.
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After operationalising the intelligence, a team tracked and pursued them at about 12am on Thursday, 5 December 2024, en route to eSikhawini.
"Officers intercepted them along the John Ross Highway towards Richards Bay and signalled at the driver to stop," said KZN police spokesperson Colonel Richard Netshiunda.
"He ignored lawful instructions and sped off. A high-speed vehicle chase followed, and the suspects opened fire."
Police returned fire, fatally wounding all eight suspects. Netshiunda said the suspects were linked with a recent cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery in Mzingazi.
Officers recovered three firearms, two replica guns and housebreaking tools.
"Investigations to establish if the firearms are linked to other crimes are underway," he said.
Similarly, Gauteng law enforcement foiled a planned CIT heist, shooting and killing three suspects in a shootout on Saturday, 30 November.
Police, who, along with private security, pounced on a group of about 12 suspects at a safe house in Kwa-Thema, recovered three firearms — two rifles and a pistol – and magazines loaded with live ammunition.
Provincial spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said crime intelligence received information about the group's alleged planned heist and followed it up.
"They were to meet at a Kwa-Thema safe house. [Multiple] law enforcement agencies were activated to intercept the suspects.
"The suspects shot as the team pounced on them at the [identified] address, leading to a shootout," said Masondo.
Police kill 8 CIT suspects in Khayelitsha
In related news, Briefly News reported that KwaZulu-Natal's stern approach to crime seemed to rub off elsewhere in South Africa.
That is after eight suspected CIT robbers were killed in a gun battle with police and private security in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on Monday, 5 August.
Source: Briefly News
