JOHANNESBURG – Police Minister Fikile Mbalula says the robbers who stormed an Eastern Cape police station and killed five officers and a retired soldier must be arrested within 72 hours.

“These good-for-nothings that killed our police here must be arrested, so that we can set an example to others that this is not a banana republic. Criminals can’t just come in and do as they please. You can’t do as you please here. It can’t be that when you have the police working here people just come in and shoot. The law should not allow that,” Mbalula said on Wednesday afternoon.

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On Wednesday morning, a group of armed suspects entered the Engcobo Police Station and opened fire, killing three police members instantly.

According to police, the retired soldier was also shot dead as the suspects fled.

The suspects are still at large.

eNCA