Police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested four suspected members of a gang terrorising residents of Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas.

The suspects were arrested in an intelligence-driven operation conducted on Sunday morning.

The four men are linked to a string of murder cases committed in the Pietermaritzburg, Imbali, Richmond and Bergville areas as well as cases of robbery, rape and assault with the purpose to inflict grievous bodily harm.

Police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said a police team attempting to trace the gang members received information on their whereabouts.

The team went to a lodge situated on Woodhouse Road, not far from where seven suspects were killed last week.

Mbele said each suspect was found in possession of an illegal pistol with rounds of ammunition. The suspects are aged between 18 and 30.

“Our operations are still ongoing and all those that are involved in these criminal acts including those high profile individuals (business people and politicians) will be arrested. We will not rest until there is peace and stability in our province,” KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said.

Police minister Bheki Cele said such breakthroughs were encouraging and restored hope to the communities that have felt the wrath of the ruthless criminals.

“It is clear that if these intelligence-driven operations are consistently executed and intensified, they will bring about stability to this area that has been terrorised by gangs and ultimately bring about peace to people living in the province,” Cele said.

TimesLIVE