SAA event in Kwa-Zulu Natal, La Mercy area, South Africa on Wed 31st January 2024

JOHANNESBURG - Three suspected members of a notorious gang that's been terrorising the KwaZulu-Natal community of Inanda have been shot and killed by police.

Eyewitness News understands that officers followed up on information regarding the whereabouts of the suspected members of the so-called West Gang.

Last year, Eyewitness News reported extensively about the West Gang, which has been terrorising the community of Inanda, dubbed South Africa's murder and rape capital.

The #WestGang are said to be behind a spate of robberies and more than 50 murders in #Inanda in 2023 alone - & are responsible for the death of a cop, neighbourhood watch patrollers and a community policing forum member.

— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 31, 2024

It's understood that police were met with gunfire when they found the gang sheltered in an informal structure in La Mercy, north of Durban in the early hours of this morning.

Last year, Eyewitness News reported that more than 50 murders were committed by the group of mostly youngsters last year alone.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi confirmed to Eyewitness News last year that the West Gang were behind a spate of killings in Inanda. 

"They get recruited to the underworld and start selling drugs for other people and once they touch that crack cocaine, they become animals. That becomes then the biggest problem because they fear nothing. They get hold of firearms and begin terrorising communities on all fronts."