KwaZulu-Natal police operations: Cash heist suspect killed in shootout, murder suspect nabbed
A cash-in-transit heist suspect was killed in a shootout with police in northern KZN on Wednesday morning.
Image: SAPS / Facebook
As the year draws to a close, police operations across KwaZulu-Natal have intensified, resulting in significant breakthroughs against serious crime during the final days of 2025.
The Office of the Provincial Commissioner confirmed that, “as the year 2025 draws to a close and citizens of the province are preparing to usher in the New Year, police officers in KwaZulu-Natal are also intensifying operations in various parts of the province, making sure that they rid the streets of those individuals who are in conflict with the law.”
This commitment was reflected in operations conducted across the province between Tuesday, December 30 and Wednesday, December 31.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, police carried out “an intelligence-driven operation at the Mbongolwane area targeting a suspect who was wanted in connection with a cash-in-transit heist which took place in Newlands during November 2025.”
Police said officers “approached the homestead where the suspect was hiding and announced their presence as they knocked on the door.”
The situation quickly escalated when “the response from inside was a barrage of gunfire directed towards the police.” Officers returned fire, and “the suspect was fatally wounded.”
At the scene, police recovered “a 9mm pistol with six rounds of ammunition.” Further investigation revealed that “the deceased suspect, aged 56, was out on parole after serving 15 years of his 30-year sentence for armed robbery and murder.”
In another breakthrough on the same day, police confirmed that “members of the Provincial Tracing Team arrested a 34-year-old suspect at Klaarwater township for a case of murder which he committed in Mariannhill in the year 2019.” The suspect had previously been arrested, but “after he was granted bail, he went on the run.”
Additional arrests were made in separate operations. In Taylors Halt, “members of the Pietermaritzburg Flying Squad arrested a 28-year-old suspect who was found in possession of an unlicensed 9mm pistol with the serial number filed off.”
Meanwhile, in Chatsworth, “members from the Provincial Task Team also arrested a suspect who was in possession of twenty-one shotgun rounds as well as a homemade firearm.”
Police confirmed that “the arrested suspects will appear today, Wednesday, 31 December 2025, at the Pinetown, Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court, respectively.”