Eight men believed to be responsible for the spate of safe-bombings, as well as various other daring robberies in Makhado (Louis Trichardt), have been arrested the past week.

A gang of seven suspects were arrested on Sunday after they tried to flee from the police. The Makhado, Bandelierkop and Mara police joined forces to chase the gang down, after they tried to skip town via the Vivo-road. According to local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike an eight suspect was arrested on Monday.

The arrest follows information that the police’s Crime Intelligence and Hawks units had about the gang. They were allegedly planning to rob yet another business in Makhado (Louis Trichardt) on Saturday morning.

Three firearms, with their serial numbers filed off, as well as two vehicles — a Toyota Tazz and Mazda Laser, allegedly used during the crime spree — were recovered during the arrest. Police have also confirmed that ATM breaking tools and explosives such as gels, detonators and battery packs were seized as evidence.

According to provincial police spokesperson Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, initial investigations have revealed that the gang was allegedly responsible for more than 15 cases of the bombing of safes and ATMs, a series of armed robberies as well as a murder. The murder case refers to the one in which the 34-year-old Mr Prince Mbedzi, a security guard from Gwala Security, was killed during a botched robbery at Eden Oil on 8 September.

Five of the eight suspects appeared in the Louis Trichardt District Court on Monday. They were the 25-year-old Mcabangweni Mgwenya, Moloto Tlou (38), Kabelo Hadebe (24), Mphasha Manyusa (32) and Robert Tsheko (30). All five men were dressed in designer T-shirts and pants, and were seemingly in a very good mood, making small talk with the police’s television camera crew before their court appearance.

The five were charged with murder, armed robbery and the illegal possession of explosives. The other three suspects had yet to appear in court by the time of going to press. They are believed to be the leaders of the gang.

Tlou, Mgwenya, Hadebe, Manyusa and Tsheko were denied bail and will have to appear in court again on 12 October, when more cases are expected to be brought against them. The whole gang was also expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of illegal possession of firearms.

In the meantime, the gang is still being profiled, as according to Mulaudzi, it is suspected that they form part of a bigger gang responsible for various other violent crimes throughout the Limpopo Province, and possibly in other provinces as well.