Police have swelled their ranks in Umlazi ahead of the funeral of infamous carjacker Sandile “Chillies” Bhengu on Saturday.

Bhengu was gunned down by police in the township last week after officers on patrol noticed a suspicious vehicle. He is alleged to have opened fire on officers‚ who returned a salvo.

In the wake of his death‚ mourners have paid tribute to the flashy criminal by spinning cars‚ loosing off gunshots into the air and‚ on Friday‚ torching two stolen cars in the township.

Police sources confirmed that units from the Flying Squad‚ Dog Unit and TRT had been deployed en masse.

On Wednesday an alleged cash-in-transit robber found himself in handcuffs on after he was arrested on the fringes of a memorial service for Bhengu. The man‚ linked to a host of robberies‚ was nabbed after firing his gun into the air in tribute to his fallen cohort