THREE dangerous criminals escaped from Ulundi Police Station’s holding cells on Monday evening!
They had earlier appeared in the Ulundi Magistrates Court, northern KZN, and were to be transported to Ncome Prison in Vryheid later.
They were facing charges of murder, rape, robbery and burglary.
Ulundi police spokeswoman Captain Ntombi Gwala yesterday told Daily Sun that Xolani Biyela (25) and Bongani Buthelezi (25) from Ulundi, and Thokozani Mbatha (26) from Ekombe, had been in custody at Ncome Prison since last year.
“They arrived at the police station on Monday morning. They were then taken to court separately and were later brought back to the station so they could be transported back to prison. However, within two hours of arrival, they had cut the roof net of the cells with a saw and escaped,” she said.
Gwala said the police suspected they went on a crime spree soon after escaping.
“Two cases of robbery were reported to the station a few hours after they escaped. One of the victims was stabbed and wounded.
“On Tuesday, a security guard was robbed of his firearm and money was taken from him. The descriptions of the attackers matched the escaped prisoners,” she said.
Xolani was arrested in May for allegedly raping a woman and leaving her tied to a railway track naked. Gwala described Buthelezi as a specialist when it came to using a knife.
