Publications
Partners
The gruesome shooting in Soshanguve’s Jukulyn, which left four people dead, including a 14-year-old girl, on New Year’s Day may be linked to a drug turf war.
The area in the north of Pretoria is known for its drug scourge, which has seen many youths becoming addicted to nyaope. Some have joined gangs to facilitate drug-dealing, as well as a means of survival.
A highly placed police source privy to the investigation said:
The source alleged that the gold bars, which were confiscated at the airport by the police, had gone missing during the suspect’s shift at the police’s exhibit storage facility.
City Press understands that the deceased was facing an internal and criminal investigation for drug trafficking, which included the theft of cocaine.
“His lifestyle alone said a lot about him. He wore expensive brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, which were unaffordable on a police constable’s salary of R12 000. The car in which he was shot was a Golf 7 GTI, which is way too expensive for a junior policeman to afford,” he revealed, adding that the shooting that killed Kgobotlo, as well as three others, was not the first attempt on his life.
READ: Over 16 000 arrests made by Eastern Cape law enforcement this festive season, rape on the rise
Kgobotlo, two of his friends and his 14-year-old niece were killed during the early hours of 1 January while he was sitting in his Golf. At least three armed men carrying rifles and pistols sprayed him with a hail of bullets before leaving them dead in the notorious Jukulyn area.
“There was a time when a rival gang stormed a local tavern called Konka in Jukulyn [unrelated to the famous Konka in Soweto] and started shooting randomly at the patrons. Kgobotlo wasn’t found during that attack, but the search for him and one of his close friends known as ‘Lawrence’ continued,” said the source.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said an investigation into the killing was continuing.
She said:
This is not the first time that police at the airport have been accused of illegal activities.
In August 2020, 17 police officers, ranging in rank from a constable to a warrant officer, were arrested following what the Hawks described as an “extensive investigation into their alleged criminal conduct”.
The investigation, according to sources, began after Hawks police captain Colbern Mashego was shot and killed by fellow police officers outside the airport as he tried to stop a police-marked Ford Ranger bakkie transporting drugs confiscated from a mule who had just flown in from Brazil.
Mashego was driving a Hawks-issued unmarked Volkswagen Golf 7. The incident occurred in November 2016 at Jet Park, in Boksburg, Gauteng.
