PRETORIA – Seven alleged ATM bombers aged between 33 and 47 have been arrested following a botched business burglary which left a police constable lifeless.
Constable Baliki Mogapi (33) was fatally shot after he and his partner responded to an ATM alarm early Friday morning, in Haterbeesfontien, Eenheid Steet.
It is alleged a group of about eight armed suspects were already in the process of breaching the ATM machine when the two members approached what they believed was a security van.
Unbeknown to them as they proceeded to engage the supposed security guard, he alighted from the vehicle and shot at the members fatally wounding Constable Mogapi in the process. His partner managed to exit the SAPS vehicle and subsequently fired a single shot in the direction of the fleeing assailant.
A serious manhunt by the Hawks and the Provincial Tactical Response Team ensued which led the team to the seven suspects around Pretoria and Katlehong. Two pistols and two vehicles were seized. Members are on the hunt for the eighth suspect.
The suspects are expected to appear at the Klerksdorp Magistrate Court on Monday charged with murder, attempted murder, business burglary and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
In a separate incident, the Hawks are appealing for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of two suspects who fatally shot a constable Thulani Mdluli (26) in Mabopane, Pretoria.
The members were pursuing a vehicle early Saturday morning when they were shot at randomly by the suspects, using a high caliber firearm. A manhunt has also been launched for the two suspects.
Anyone with information is requested to contact Colonel Bruce Bok on 082 412 4047.
Meanwhile the Hawks National Head Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza has promised to leave no stone unturned to hunt the perpetrators of the police members.
“When you kill the police, you kill the nation and the Hawks will not rest until we arrest the criminals who is still at large. Someone, somewhere knows who these killers are and I urge our community to rise up, do your national duty and provide us with any information in order to catch the killers,” he said.”
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