Cape Town - The police have arrested three suspects linked to taxi-related shootings.
A suspect who was caught in Wolseley was killed in a shootout.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said members of the provincial Taxi Task Unit’s combat team arrested a suspect in Ocean View on Thursday.
“In pursuit of vital information as part of their investigations into taxi-related murders, they pounced on a location in Ocean View where they apprehended a wanted suspect on Thursday, August 24.
“The suspect is allegedly linked to a triple murder in Khayelitsha in December. He was also charged for another murder that occurred in Masiphumelele in June, as well as a house robbery in the same area of Ocean View.
“He is expected to appear in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court today, on the charges specified.
“(An alleged) hitman was shot and killed in Wolseley after a shootout with the police on Thursday. The deceased suspect was sought in connection with a string of murders in Ceres, Wolseley and Citrusdal. In one incident, the deceased was alleged to have shot and killed a father and his 10-year-old son in Wolseley in August,” he said.
Potelwa said another suspected taxi hitman was scheduled to be brought to the Western Cape to face murder charges after he was arrested by Umhlali SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal for possession of an unlicensed firearm, and that he had since appeared in court in KwaZulu-Natal.
“As part of ongoing taxi violence-related investigations, yet another suspect was apprehended on Friday, for possession of an unlicensed firearm linked to a shooting incident that took place in Ocean View.
“More arrests are on the cards as the team of detectives responsible for taxi violence-related investigations crack the whip. All arrested suspects are between the ages of 30 to 40,” he said.
Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie has welcomed the arrests.
“The minibus taxi industry is a crucial part of our transport sector and we are all working hard to support its formalisation. No industry can survive if any part of it is held hostage to criminality, let alone one so important to our society,” he said.
“These arrests are a welcome move towards assuring the integrity and sustainability of the minibus taxi industry. The Mobility Department will assist the SAPS in any way to bring justice to the families.”