By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Service in Gauteng have confirmed the arrests of two suspects, linked to the murder of 5-year old Ditebogo Jr Phalane.
Phalane was fatally shot over the weekend during his father’s hijacking outside their home in Soshanguve block UU.
The breakthrough comes a day before his funeral, which is expected to be held on Friday.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni said the suspects were arrested this week.
Mthombeni said police worked tirelessly to hunt down the suspects.
He said the police had a breakthrough, which led the team to specific addresses in Soshanguve, where two suspects were arrested. The suspects were bust in different locations.
“In one of the locations, in a house, the suspect was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. In another location, not too far from the crime scene, we also found the suspect in possession of an unlicensed firearm. This firearm is linked to a car hijacking, which was committed during 2023 in Akasia,” said Mthombeni.
He said the officers then went to a third location.
“As we pounced on the house, we could not find the suspect but we have found a vehicle.
“This vehicle was reported stolen in Mabopane and based on information [received] it is linked to the commission of the crime where the five-year-old was fatally wounded,” said Mthombeni.
Mthombeni said the suspects are expected to appear in court soon.
In a separate incident, four cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery suspects were shot dead during a shootout with police in Camperdown, just outside Pietermaritzburg, early on Thursday.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said detectives have been tracking down several gangs suspected to be behind cash-in-transit robberies operating in the King Cetshwayo District and Harry Gwala District.
“We realised that this is the same group, they have been working with some people in a neighboring province and we’re still hunting for some of them.”
“Through the networks that we have, hardworking intelligence members were able to investigate and get the information that was able to bring us here.”
Mkhwanazi said they have been tracing the suspects since last year, but intensified their search since the beginning of this year after discovering the gang has been moving between Mpangeni, Kokstad and parts of the Eastern Cape.