- A R100 000 reward helped police to trace Gauteng's most wanted criminal to KwaZulu-Natal.
- Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela was linked to eight cases, including six murders.
- Biyela was killed in a shootout with police on Monday morning.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal police were struggling to trace and re-arrest Gauteng's most wanted criminal.
On 29 May, they offered a R100 000 reward for help in tracing Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela. Police received numerous tip-offs, and just five days after the reward was put up, Biyela was traced to a Sahlumbe village in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said Biyela, who was Gauteng's most wanted criminal, was killed on Monday morning in a shootout with police.
Biyela was linked to eight cases, including the murder of a police officer in October 2021.
Muridili said Biyela shot at police when officers approached the house where he had been hiding in the early hours of Monday morning.
"The team tactically approached the house where Biyela was hiding, but when he spotted them, he started firing shots toward the members, who were forced to retaliate. Biyela was fatally wounded. None of the members sustained injuries. The team recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition upon entering the house," Muridili added.
She said Biyela was previously arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for murder in August 2020 and October 2021, respectively. He, however, managed to escape from custody.
Biyela was linked to five murders in Jabulani, Soweto, which were committed between October 2021 and March 2022. He was also linked to a hijacking in Lenasia in December 2017. In Lenasia South, in December 2017, he was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm. Another murder charge was added in KwaZulu-Natal in August 2020.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela said:
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