POLICE in Dar es Salaam said it gunned down six suspected members of notorious criminal gang ‘Panyaroad’ during a battle on Saturday night at the city’s Makongo suburb.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander ACP Muliro Jumanne Muliro, addressing the media yesterday said that the six died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Narrating the incident, ACP Muliro said police officers approached the suspects who were in a vehicle with registration number T 260 BEP, Toyota Noah.
“When police stopped the car to arrest them, they got out and started wielding knives and refused to be arrested. Police then fired several shots in the air and in return they still defied and charged at the officers,” he pointed out.
The top cop further said, “Despite firing in the air, the alleged criminals decided to fight the officers and what ensued was six out of nine of them being injured…they were rushed to the hospital and unfortunately they succumbed to their injuries.”
He further said, however, three of them managed to escape and the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Force is hot on their heels and soon all will be arrested.
Explaining how police managed to corner them, he said the Law Enforcers were tipped by some residents that there was a group of about 9 criminals in a car driving from Mabibo area armed with knives and related weapons on their way to Goba Kinzudi, Ubungo District to commit crime.
ACP Muliro added that initial investigations revealed that two of the dead suspects identified as Salum Juma aged 27-30, who is a resident of Mbagala and Khalifan from Buguruni, who had once been jailed for armed robbery in 2021 and later released were leaders of the group in the city.
He further said preliminary search indicated that the two suspected ringleaders must have participated in the recent killings at Kawe Malingo, including incidents of breaking into houses at nights and looting of properties in some parts of the city.
In a related development, ACP Muliro said that the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Force will continue to implement the directives issued by the Inspector General of Police, Camillus Wambura to ensure that the security situation is restored in the city.
Elaborating, he urged members of the public to continue cooperating and providing Police with information that would lead to the arrest of the criminals.
In his address, he warned criminals to immediately stop engaging in criminal activities, otherwise, the law will pin them down.
Recently, the ‘Panyaroad’ criminals have been threatening safety and lives of the city dwellers, especially at night.
Last week, they killed a University of Dar es Salaam student Maria Basso (24) at Kawe in the city and after also attacking and injuring others.
