Traffic officer Desmond Arumugam Pillay was killed on the N2 at the Groutville off-ramp. Picture: Facebook
Police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested a suspect for the murder of traffic officer, Superintendent Desmond Arumugam Pillay.
Pillay was shot dead while stopped on the N2 highway at the Groutville off-ramp on November 4. He was on duty at the time.
Police spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Robert Netshiunda, said on the fateful morning, the suspect boarded a minibus taxi from KwaDukuza to Durban and along the N2 highway, he robbed the driver of an undisclosed amount of money.
“He also robbed four passengers of their cellphones at gunpoint. The traffic officer noticed a minibus taxi which was parked incorrectly near the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) Groutville offices and went to investigate, unaware that there was an armed robbery in progress,” Netshiunda said.
He said the suspect fired shots at the traffic officer and he was killed instantly.
"The driver of the minibus taxi abandoned the vehicle, while the gun-toting suspect took over the driver’s seat and drove the vehicle with the passengers to Thembeni area in KwaDukuza where he abandoned it,“ Netshiunda said.
He added that the investigating team tracked the suspect to the Thubelihle informal settlement in Melmoth where the arrest was effected.
"Follow-up investigations directed the police to the suspect’s residence at an informal settlement in KwaMashu where the murder weapon with a filed-off serial number was recovered with 32 rounds of ammunition,“ Netshiunda said.
The suspect, aged 27, will appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
“On the same day the suspect will make another court appearance at the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court where he will face charges of murder, carjacking and armed robbery,” police said.
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