A 32-year-old most wanted criminal has been arrested during an operation that was conducted by Mthatha Cluster Detectives and Crime Intelligence Unit members at Bajodini locality in Qumbu today the 21 August 2018 at about 10h00.
The suspect has been wanted since 2016 for crimes including murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery with a firearm and stock theft.
During his arrest he was found in possession of a R1 rifle with 8 rounds of ammunition, 12 Bore rifle with 3 shells, 1 9mm pistol with 97 rounds of ammunition, 2 pistol empty magazines, 1 pellet gun, 1 bush knife, a pair of binoculars, dagga weighing 1 kg and 8 cellphones.
The firearms will be subjected to ballistic testing to establish if it can be linked to other crimes in the country. There is also a possibility that the suspect is linked to other cases of stock theft that occurred around the Qumbu and surrounding areas.
The suspect will appear before Qumbu Magistrate’s Court later this week facing various charges including possession of and dealing in dagga, possession of unlicensed firearms and unlawful possession of ammunition as well as possession of suspected stolen property.
The Acting Cluster Commander, Brigadier Nomawethu Makonza, commended the members for their sterling efforts and had this message for criminals “You can run but you cannot hide from the law. This arrest is a warning to all criminals that we are behind you and we will hunt you down.”
To the team she said, “This is our most wanted suspect who has been terrorising the community for quite some time but today you made me proud,” she added