THE infamous group of high profile criminals dubbed ‘KZN 8’ made their first appearance at the Empangeni Regional Court on Friday.
The case was remanded to 17 July as requested by the attorney who required further particulars.
The group of eight, who were arrested in February, were charged with the possession of four illegal and unlicensed firearms, 23 rounds of ammunition and the conspiracy to commit robbery with aggravating circumstances.
According to police reports, the men aged between 37 and 52-years-old are originally from Gauteng and have been convicted of previous crimes in both Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
‘Earlier last week, the men appeared in Johannesburg for nine cases of bank robbery against them,’ said Empangeni Violent Crime Unit Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Sipho Mnguni.
It is alleged that in December 2013, the men were suspected of planning to rob Pick n Pay at Sanlam Centre, but were later arrested in Ulundi for the possession of six illegal firearms, but were subsequently granted bail.
Meticulously following leads on the suspects, the Empangeni SAPS seized the group of eight in February along the N2 toward Mtubatuba.
According to reports, the gang was en route to pick up two large rifles prior to making their way to Pick n Pay Supermarket for a second time.
The men are currently being detained at the High Risk Medium A cell in Westville Prison.
