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"title": "‘They started the war,’ says police chief Masemola after 18 gang suspects killed in 90-minute Makhado gun battle",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 90-minute gun battle between police and a suspected gang of heavily armed robbers left 18 gang members dead and one police officer injured in a residential area in Makhado in Limpopo.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking from the scene of a bloody gun battle in Alti Villas in Limpopo, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola told media that police had been tracking down the gang in a months-long joint operation by specialist units.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said police pounced on the gang who were hiding in a house in the wealthy Makhado suburb at about 1pm on Friday afternoon.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said the gang opened fire on police with high-calibre rifles.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Police then returned fire, which resulted in a shootout that lasted 90 minutes.</span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WATCH: Police in Limpopo shot and killed 18 suspects in a cash-in-transit fouled robbery on Friday in Makhado, Limpopo.\r\n<a href=\"https://t.co/EhNbJ2BtJC\">https://t.co/EhNbJ2BtJC</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CashInTransit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CashInTransit</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/HIZ1DV8WUo\">pic.twitter.com/HIZ1DV8WUo</a></p>\r\n— Scrolla Africa (@ScrollaAfrica) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ScrollaAfrica/status/1697668592429387968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The suspected gang was hiding in a double-storey house in a quiet suburban street when police pounced.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“They started the war,” said Masemola, speaking about 100m from the house where the suspected gang members were shot dead.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said a police officer was shot in the leg in the ensuing shootout. The officer, who was said to have lost a lot of blood, was taken to hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/slug-islucas-heist-limpopo-2/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1833292\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Slug-isLucas-Heist-Limpopo-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"506\" /></a> <em>The scene of the shootout in Makhado. Police have allegedly broken the back of a syndicate possibly responsible for a number of cash-in-transit heists in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. (Photo: Supplied)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said 16 men and two women were killed in the shootout.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said the suspects had used rifles during the shootout with police.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hawks General Godfrey Lebeya said the suspected gang members were found in possession of explosives similar to those that have been previously used in explosions during the commission of crimes.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lebeya said the Hawks have been part of a joint investigation since early this year.</span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola is at the scene in Makhado where 18 suspected cash-in-transit robbers were shot and killed. Masemola tells <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Newzroom405?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Newzroom405</a>’s <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NqobileMadlala_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NqobileMadlala_</a> that 16 of the 18 robbers are male and the two are female. <a href=\"https://t.co/9bFsaxvIpd\">pic.twitter.com/9bFsaxvIpd</a></p>\r\n— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Newzroom405/status/1697675070213329157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said, as part of the operation, police had also raided a house in Thohoyandou, about 70km from the scene of the shootout in Makhado.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There police arrested four suspects who are allegedly linked to the slain gang members.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said a police investigation had revealed that the gang members were planning to rob a cash depot in Limpopo.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lebeya couldn’t say if the gang was linked to the recent spate of armed robberies in the Vhembe area, which has seen businesses and ATMs targeted in robberies.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/slug-islucas-heist-limpopo-1/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1833293 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Slug-isLucas-Heist-Limpopo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"470\" /></a> <em>The house in which the suspects were shot is also a double-storey consisting of a butterfly-style roofing with palm trees in the front. (Photo: Supplied)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola revealed that the house in which the suspects were killed was owned by a Zimbabwean national.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Lebeya wouldn’t be drawn into revealing whether the suspects were part of an international or cross-border crime syndicate, saying investigations to that effect are continuing.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stunned residents of the suburb, which comprises newly built double-storey mansions and those still being built, watched in silence as police forensic officers processed the crime scene.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The house in which the suspects were shot is also a double-storey consisting of a butterfly-style roofing with palm trees in the front.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were no bodies of the victims visible to the public.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said although the shootout took place in a residential area, they had not received any report of civilian injuries. - </span><b>DM/Mukurukuru Media</b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 90-minute gun battle between police and a suspected gang of heavily armed robbers left 18 gang members dead and one police officer injured in a residential area in Makhado in Limpopo.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking from the scene of a bloody gun battle in Alti Villas in Limpopo, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola told media that police had been tracking down the gang in a months-long joint operation by specialist units.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said police pounced on the gang who were hiding in a house in the wealthy Makhado suburb at about 1pm on Friday afternoon.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said the gang opened fire on police with high-calibre rifles.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Police then returned fire, which resulted in a shootout that lasted 90 minutes.</span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WATCH: Police in Limpopo shot and killed 18 suspects in a cash-in-transit fouled robbery on Friday in Makhado, Limpopo.\r\n<a href=\"https://t.co/EhNbJ2BtJC\">https://t.co/EhNbJ2BtJC</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CashInTransit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CashInTransit</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/HIZ1DV8WUo\">pic.twitter.com/HIZ1DV8WUo</a></p>\r\n— Scrolla Africa (@ScrollaAfrica) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ScrollaAfrica/status/1697668592429387968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The suspected gang was hiding in a double-storey house in a quiet suburban street when police pounced.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“They started the war,” said Masemola, speaking about 100m from the house where the suspected gang members were shot dead.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said a police officer was shot in the leg in the ensuing shootout. The officer, who was said to have lost a lot of blood, was taken to hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1833292\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/slug-islucas-heist-limpopo-2/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1833292\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Slug-isLucas-Heist-Limpopo-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"506\" /></a> <em>The scene of the shootout in Makhado. Police have allegedly broken the back of a syndicate possibly responsible for a number of cash-in-transit heists in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. (Photo: Supplied)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said 16 men and two women were killed in the shootout.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said the suspects had used rifles during the shootout with police.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hawks General Godfrey Lebeya said the suspected gang members were found in possession of explosives similar to those that have been previously used in explosions during the commission of crimes.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lebeya said the Hawks have been part of a joint investigation since early this year.</span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola is at the scene in Makhado where 18 suspected cash-in-transit robbers were shot and killed. Masemola tells <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Newzroom405?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Newzroom405</a>’s <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NqobileMadlala_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NqobileMadlala_</a> that 16 of the 18 robbers are male and the two are female. <a href=\"https://t.co/9bFsaxvIpd\">pic.twitter.com/9bFsaxvIpd</a></p>\r\n— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Newzroom405/status/1697675070213329157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said, as part of the operation, police had also raided a house in Thohoyandou, about 70km from the scene of the shootout in Makhado.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There police arrested four suspects who are allegedly linked to the slain gang members.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said a police investigation had revealed that the gang members were planning to rob a cash depot in Limpopo.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lebeya couldn’t say if the gang was linked to the recent spate of armed robberies in the Vhembe area, which has seen businesses and ATMs targeted in robberies.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1833293\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/slug-islucas-heist-limpopo-1/\"><img class=\"wp-image-1833293 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Slug-isLucas-Heist-Limpopo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"470\" /></a> <em>The house in which the suspects were shot is also a double-storey consisting of a butterfly-style roofing with palm trees in the front. (Photo: Supplied)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola revealed that the house in which the suspects were killed was owned by a Zimbabwean national.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Lebeya wouldn’t be drawn into revealing whether the suspects were part of an international or cross-border crime syndicate, saying investigations to that effect are continuing.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stunned residents of the suburb, which comprises newly built double-storey mansions and those still being built, watched in silence as police forensic officers processed the crime scene.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The house in which the suspects were shot is also a double-storey consisting of a butterfly-style roofing with palm trees in the front.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were no bodies of the victims visible to the public.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masemola said although the shootout took place in a residential area, they had not received any report of civilian injuries. - </span><b>DM/Mukurukuru Media</b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span>",
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The scene of the shootout in Makhado. Police have allegedly broken the back of a syndicate possibly responsible for a number of cash-in-transit heists in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. (Photo: Supplied)
The house in which the suspects were shot is also a double-storey consisting of a butterfly-style roofing with palm trees in the front. (Photo: Supplied)