NINE rape and armed robbery suspects have been shot dead, while two are on the loose.
Hammarsdale residents in the Dasai area woke up to gunshots on Wednesday morning, 3 April.
This is because cops were looking for eleven suspects who had been terrorising residents in Desai.
Cops stormed the house where the suspects were, and a gun battle between the suspects and cops ensued.
The gun battle resulted in nine suspects dead. Two escaped, and cops are searching for them.
The wanted suspects had turned this area into a no-go area.
The KZN police spokesman, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said members of the KZN Provincial Stabilisation Team operationalised intelligence about a group of eleven suspects who have been terrorising the residence of Mariannhill and the surrounding areas.
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He said the suspects were also sought in connection with a case of rape where they allegedly gang-raped a girl and made her mother watch the ordeal during a house robbery.
"They were also on police's radar for serious and violent crimes in the area. When police caught up with them, intelligence had uncovered that the suspects were plotting to execute a hit on someone," he said.
He said three firearms have so far been found in the possession of the suspects, and a search is still ongoing. A manhunt for outstanding two suspects is underway.
This incident follows several other incidents in KZN where cops gun down wanted suspects.
The recent incident was on Thursday, 28 March, in Cato Manor, where four wanted suspects were hiding in this area. These four suspects were from Inanda and were wanted in connection with murder.
