Supplied
KwaZulu Natal police killed four suspected hitmen and wounded a fifth following a shootout in Sydenham in Durban on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said members of a multidisciplinary team, and private security personnel “operationalised intelligence” about the whereabouts of the suspects who were wanted for various violent crimes including cash in transit robberies and murders.
“Police intercepted the suspects on Moses Kotane Road and instructed the suspects' vehicle to stop.
“The driver defied police instructions and the occupants of the vehicle opened fire towards the police as they sped off,” Netshiunda said.
He said during the shootout the suspects' vehicle crashed into a wall on the corner of Moses Kotane and Barns Road.
“All four suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds inside the vehicle. The fifth suspect got out of a moving vehicle and was shot and injured.
“He was found in possession of a firearm and was arrested,” he added.
Severa firearms were found inside the vehicle including a “police issued pistol.”
Netshiunda said police established that the suspects were en route to execute a hit on a man and two of his bodyguards.
“The suspects were also wanted for murders of people mostly involved in the construction industry,” he said.
