Peddie cop gun heist breakthrough

Hawks recover 4 fireams, arrest three men

FOUR of 30 police guns stolen from Peddie police station a year ago have been recovered by the Eastern Cape Hawks and three suspects arrested.

The announcement yesterday came on the same day that stolen police guns featured in a separate court case in Ngcobo involving the Seven Angels Ministry cult.

The 30 Peddie police guns – 12 assault rifles, 12 handguns and six shotguns – had been heisted from a strongroom in the Peddie police station a year ago, on March 14.

Hawks provincial spokeswoman Captain Anelisa Feni said Bongani Dike, 39, Bongani Sonentse, 26, and Mdeni Yende, 24, were arrested with four firearms stolen from the station on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

Feni said two stun grenades and a hoard of 307 rounds of ammunition were also seized from the accused.

Feni said Dike was arrested on Wednesday for the unlawful possession of two pistols, one R5 rifle, 66 rounds of pistol ammunition, 224 rounds of ammunition for a .38 revolver, and two stun grenades.

He appeared before the Peddie Magistrate’s Court on March 15 and his case has been remanded to April 16 for formal bail application, said Feni.

Sonentse and Yende were arrested last Tuesday.

Sonentse was found with an R5 semi-automatic rifle, one R5 magazine, three R5 live rounds and one empty R5 cartridge.

Yende was arrested for unlawful possession of 13 R5 live rounds and one R1 semi-automatic live round.

Sonentse and Yende both appeared before the Peddie Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and the case was postponed for April 17 for a bail application.

Acting provincial head of the Hawks in the Eastern Cape MajorGeneral Zintle Mnonopi praised his officers for their “tenacity”.

After the robbery, the Peddie police station commander was suspended.

● In Ngcobo, a cult member told the magistrate how the religious gang led two police officers last month into an ambush in which four of the members of the church mowed the officers down.

The six are accused of a crime spree in which they stole guns from police officers and used them in at’tacks – one on the Ngcobo police station where they massacred five policemen and an off-duty soldier last month.

Police evidence yesterday was that after taking the weapons of the slain policemen, cult members had planned to improve their aim by going to a shooting range.

By the end of the court hearing in Ngcobo yesterday, all six men accused of the Ngcobo police station massacre had abandoned their bail applications.

Andani Monco, Kwanele Ndlwana, Siphosomzi Tshefu, Siphesihle Tatsi, Phumzile Mhlatywa and Phutumile Mancoba appeared yesterday in the Ngcobo Magistrate’s Court for their formal bail hearing.

Earlier in the day, lawyers for five of the accused told the court they would not continue to apply for bail.

It was left to the court to deal with Tshefu’s bail application, as he was representing himself.

Lead investigator Captain Thembinkosi Mbambalele told the court Mhlatywa had lured the first two police officers to the spot where they were eventually killed.

“This is where [Monco, Ndlwana, Tshefu and Tatsi] were lying, waiting together with the late Thandazile Mancoba [one of the men shot by police at the church hours later].

He said police had followed Mhlatywa’s vehicle, and had been led to where the four men lay in wait by Mhlatywa stopping.

Mbambalele said: “He was questioned by the officers and it was while he was being questioned that the others fired, killing the two officers”.

He said police had recovered most of the stolen guns, except for one pistol.

Each of the accused face five counts of murder, two for robbery with aggravated circumstances, and one each of attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.

Mbambalele said on the day of their arrest, all six accused were present at Thandazile Mancoba’s house with loaded guns and had fired first at the police officers.

“We shot back in retaliation,” he said. “The case against the accused is strong, coupled with the fact that the stolen firearms were discovered on them and Tshefu has written down a confession,” Mbambalele said.

Tshefu told the court that he did have an ID book.

According to him, the police shot first. —