'Five-minute gang' want bail

2008-07-18 22:05

Pietermaritzburg - Four members of the so-called "five-minute gang" continued their bail applications in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Alleged gang member Ntokoza Majola, 33, of Durban, submitted an affidavit in support of his application, in which he claimed that the BMW X5 they used in the robberies had false number plates. These had been fitted so that he would not be recognised and attacked in Durban taxi violence.

They were arrested when the X5 crashed into a Chubb Security car after two upmarket Pietermaritzburg houses were raided on May 31.

The four ran from the crashed car and ignored policemen's orders to stop. Police dogs bit them during the arrest and Majola was shot in the arm.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Riaan van Rooyen, who was opposing granting bail to the suspects, said that a heavy hammer painted green and a crowbar were found in the crashed car.

After the arrest of the four suspects he found jewellery, allegedly stolen from a Pietermaritzburg advocate's home in Majola's jacket. In Majola's home he found a TV set, i-pods and a Playstation for which there were no proof of purchase receipts.

He said that while the gang were out on bail for a housebreaking and theft in Hillcrest, they committed similar crimes in Pietermaritzburg. Van Rooyen said that the gang members should not be released for the Hillcrest case either.

The alleged "five-minute gang" would also be arraigned for a high-profile case in Mdantsane. Twenty people were arrested in a warehouse in which assault rifles and ammunition were found.

Majola said he was not a flight risk if given bail and did not have a passport, which Van Rooyen contradicted. He said Majola knew that if convicted of the Hillcrest, Pietermaritzburg, Mdantsane and Chatsworth armed robbery cases, he and his co-accused would face lengthy jail terms.

His co-accused are Sibongiseni Zwane, 31, Mdeni Vilakazi, 25, and Jabulani Hadebe, 35, all from the Durban area. The bail application would continue on a date to be fixed later.

- SAPA