18 People Killed During Shootout with Police in Limpopo
Eighteen people suspected of planning to carry out a cash-in-transit heist were killed during a shoot-out with police in Makhado, Limpopo.
National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola visited the scene of the shooting on Friday evening.
Masemola told journalists that police had received intelligence of a planned cash-in-transit (CIT) heist.
“A group of cash-in-transit heist criminals… over time planned this CIT for today, and they are quite integrated. They planned to do a cash heist, and we had intelligence. Our intention was to arrest them before the heist,” he said.
According to Masemola, police members approached the suspected safe house and that’s when the shootout ensued.
“The shooting lasted for about 90 minutes. 18 were shot dead, and one police officer was seriously injured and was taken to hospital,” he said.
Masemola added that the investigation stems from January.
“They have been tracked for a few months, and among them, there are 16 men and two women. They [had] bought a lot of firearms, and they had explosives in their possession,” he added.
Ten vehicles, including several high-powered performance vehicles and seven automatic rifles, were seized.
Various policing experts are still combing the scene.
Masemola said they believe they had broken the back of a syndicate possibly responsible for a number of CIT heists in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
The national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, confirmed that the operation was a culmination of a major investigation that had begun in January.
“Limpopo and Mpumalanga joined forces in addressing the syndicate that was identified based on several follow-ups that were made by the team. So, indeed, we do believe we have the suspects that we have been following. Further investigations will continue to ascertain other crimes that the group may have perpetrated. A speedy recovery to the DPCI officer,” he said.
