A group of suspects aged between 22 and 56 will soon appear before the Brits magistrate’s court in the North West for the attempted murder of a police officer.
According to police, the first suspect was handed over to the police by a member of the community while the other was arrested by Jericho police on January 9.
Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone explained: “The other three suspects were tracked and arrested between January 9 and the early hours of today (January 10) in Mabopane and Winterveldt during a tactical operation by Brits Crime Intelligence and Trio Task Team.”
Mokgwabone stated that among the group, one suspect is facing an additional charge of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
The arrests follows an incident in which the suspects allegedly shot and injured a police constable on January 8 at Jericho village.
“The police officer was arriving at a tuckshop in an unmarked state motor vehicle when he noticed three suspects who fired several shots of which one struck the member on the left arm. The suspects fled the scene in a silver Opel Kadett.
“A quick response by Jericho police led to a car chase until at Sephai village where the suspects’ vehicle collided with a cow. The suspects then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Although a search was conducted in the bushes, that did not yield positive results. The search continued on January 9, leading to the arrest of three more suspects in Mabopane and Winterveldt,” Mokgwabone added.
Loaded firearm found hidden at village home
Mokgwabone said that further investigations led the team to Legonyane village where a Norinco firearm with ammunition was found hidden by one of the suspects at his aunt’s place.
The preliminary investigations revealed that four suspects are on parole and still under correctional supervision.
North West police commissioner Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena welcomed the arrest.
“This is a clear indication that the police are committed to dismantling criminal groupings such as this one,” Kwena said.
He thanked all police officers and other role players, including private security companies and members of the community, for their roles in the arrests of the suspects.
