|
Dar police kill two suspected gangsters
2005-09-20 08:26:53
By Emmanuel Kihaule
Police in Dar es Salaam engaged suspected gangsters yesterday in a fierce exchange of fire that last about half an hour at Kawe.
The exchange, in which two of the suspected gangsters were killed and one policeman was seriously injured, occurred at around 3pm.
One of the killed gangsters was wearing full military combat gear, which is suspected to have been acquired from the Tanzania People Defense Forces (TPDF).
He also had a military identification card.
This was after an inspection was conducted at the Kawe Police Station.
One of the dead gangsters also had an SMG gun with fifteen rounds of ammunition, all of which were traced to TPDF.
However, the police in charge of the operation declined to give details of the incident regarding the number and name of the gun holder or its connection to the deceased.
Even if the name and number of the ID were established, it would still be difficult to link the information to the deceased because his forehead was badly disfigured by the bullets.
According to one of the policemen involved in the operation, the drama started at the junction to Coca Cola Kwanza Bottlers in Mikocheni.
’’We were on routine patrol and when we reached the junction we decided to block a Toyota Corolla that had narrowly missed knocking down a student who was crossing the road,’’ he said.
He added that no sooner had they got out of their car than the gangsters, who had apparently hired a taxi, started firing at them.
’’It was a surprise to all of us because we never anticipated that it could turn out to be a fierce exchange,’’ he said.
The one in the military uniform who carried the SMG weapon was the first to be caught near the Kawe Beach Hotel, where he was shot and killed.
The other one was later caught some distance away from the hotel and also shot dead.
His body was brought to the police station later and then transferred to Muhimbili National Hospital.
One of the remaining two escaped, while another was arrested.
It could not be established immediately whether the suspected bandits were from an ambush at a different place or they were about to invade another place.
When contacted the Dar es Salaam Regional Police Commander, Alfred Tibaigana, said that he had not received a report about the incident as he was attending an important function. He, however, promised to give details today.
|
