Makhado – As many as 18 suspected cash-in-transit robbers – including two women – have been shot dead in a fierce gun battle with the police in Makhado, Limpopo.
One police officer was injured in the bloody takedown, Police Ministry Spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said Friday night.
Narrating events leading to the take-down, Themba said the intelligence-led operation involved the SA Police Service’s Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations supported by other specialised units.
Themba said the police acted on a tip-off regarding a heavily armed and dangerous gang believed to be behind a series of cash-in-transit heists in Limpopo.
The information led police officers to a house in Makhado Limpopo, where the heavily armed gang was thought to be planning a cash heist.
“When police arrived on the scene, instead of surrendering, the armed gang began shooting at the police who then retaliated,” Themba said.
“Eighteen of the heavily armed and dangerous suspects including two females were fatally shot.
“One police officer was injured during the exchange of fire and is being treated in hospital.”
Commenting on the gunbattle, Police Minister General Bheki Cele said: This fatal shoot-out and take-down, which lasted over 90 minutes must serve as a serious warning to criminals; individuals or gangs – that police will forever respond accordingly to any level of criminality”.
General Cele added: “Police are under instruction to stamp the authority of the state and will not hesitate to use what is at their disposal and within the law to protect citizens and their property. concluded Minister Cele.”
National Commissioner of the SA Police Service General Fannie Masemola said the police have broken the back of a syndicate possibly responsible for a number of Cash-In-Transit (CIT) heists in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng.
