Police intensify search for fugitive after double murder

THE police in KwaZulu-Natal have reinforced their search for a fugitive who's been on the run since last year and who is linked to a double murder of a mother and daughter in Mariannhill, Durban.

- STAFF REPORTER

Linda Hlongwa who goes by the aliases of Mjinja and Putin was arrested in July 2020 for charges related to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He has evaded the police since he skipped bail.

Rumours circulated that he had died in an exchange of gunfire with the police after the KZN SAPS put him on the most wanted list in Sep-tember last year. However, the murder of his 22-year-old girlfriend and her 52-year-old mother in Income Road, Nazareth in Pinetown on March 18, has prompted an intensified search for him. The two were shot dead in their home. Hlongwa is also linked to a string of murders in Mariannhill and surrounding areas.

He rose to notoriety for his crimi-nal empire of extortion which targeted many businesses from rental proper-ties, taverns, shisanyama, spaza shops, general dealers, hardware stores, taxis and e-hailing services.