High-level team arrests four suspects as cops tackle hostel violence

In an effort to fight violent crime and eradicate illegal firearms in KwaZulu Natal‚ a multi-disciplinary team arrested four suspects‚ including one at the Glebelands Hostel.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said members from the Ethekwini Outer South Cluster and the National Intervention Unit arrested four suspects‚ including one for murder and business robbery as the police attempted to tackle the scourge of crime at hostels.

"On Sunday night‚ operations were conducted which resulted in the arrest of four suspects and the confiscation of a pistol and an assortment of live rounds of ammunition‚" Zwane said.

"One of the suspects was arrested at Glebelands Hostel for murder and business robbery while the other three were found with a firearm and live rounds of ammunition."

More than 90 people have been killed in violence at or linked to the Glebelands precinct. Killings at the hostel have come under the spotlight at the Moerane Commission‚ which was set up to investigate political violence in KwaZulu-Natal.

Zwane said the suspects would be appearing in the Umlazi Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

"Further investigations will be conducted to ascertain if these suspects can be linked to other pending cases and the firearm will be subjected for ballistic tests to ascertain if it was used in the commission of any crime in the hostel or any other area in the country‚" he said.

Zwane said KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner‚ Major General Bheki Langa‚ commended the police officers for conducting the operation and recovering the firearm.

"We will continue with operations at the hostel and in the Umlazi area as a whole‚ until all the citizens in that area feel safe. We continue to urge the community to report those possessing unlicensed firearms and not to protect those that commit crime‚" Langa said.