Task team hits Bay gangsters

[caption id="attachment_100332" align="alignright" width="147"] ALWIN LABANS -[/caption]

Police arrest 102 suspects and confiscate 64 stolen firearms

A SPECIALIST Port Elizabeth gang task team has arrested 102 suspected gangsters for a range of crimes and confiscated 64 stolen firearms since May.

This was revealed by provincial police bosses yesterday following a series of questions by The Herald regarding measures implemented by police to curb ongoing gang violence in the Bay’s northern areas.

Police declined to reveal how many deaths have been linked to gang-related shootings.

They have attributed the spate of gang shootings to a turf war in Bethelsdorp – specifically the Kleinskool area.

This comes after another shooting yesterday where a 26-year-old man was shot and killed in a minibus taxi shortly after leaving the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court.

Police have not yet named the victim as they still have to inform his next of kin.

They said the man went to court where he appeared for being involved in a prior gangrelated shooting.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said the shooting was believed to be part of a gang attack.

“As the [taxi] stopped, a gunman standing on the side of the road fired eight shots at

the deceased. The minibus driver sped off to Dora Nginza Hospital where the man died,” he said.

A 19-year-old suspected gangster was shot in the leg and arm in Terblanche Street, Gelvandale, at about 7pm on Sunday. He is recovering in hospital.

On Saturday, a 35-year-old man was shot in the neck and chest on the corner of Neave Street and Searle Road, Schauderville. He remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The men’s names and hospitals where they are being treated are being withheld for their safety.

-Gareth Wilson