Greater Durban has been a hotbed of bloodshed and violence in the past two weeks, with the latest bloody incident being a shootout between police and a gang of robbers in Inanda.
Robbers armed with assault rifles had earlier held up security guards at a pension payout point at Ndwedwe near Tongaat and made off with R1.2 million in cash. According to police spokesman Lt Col Vincent Mdunge, some of the robbers hijacked a green taxi and drove towards Umzinyathi in Inanda.
Police task teams from the National Intelligence Unit, the Technical Response Team, the Dog Unit and Organised Crime Unit responded. Back-up was called in and a helicopter team aided the search.
Members of the gang reached Inanda and tried to hide in a resident’s home but were tracked down by police. Mdunge confirmed that four men were killed in the ensuing shoot-out (the owner of the home was unharmed). Police are still searching for the remaining 11 members of the gang. One R5 assault rifle and four handguns were recovered along with two boxes and one plastic bag full of cash.
This follows a number of incidents of murder and violence in Pinetown (since dubbed Crimetown) and a bloody massacre in Shongweni, also to the west of the city, in which six people were killed. Two men allegedly involved in the Shongweni killings were killed in a shootout with police at the weekend. A Pinetown schoolboy was killed in a hijacking at his home less than two weeks ago.