File poto: Some of the Cato Manor organised crime unit members, as they were leaving a police station after being arrested earlier this year. Picture:Sandile Ndlovu

Durban – Thirty Durban policemen, mostly former members of the disbanded Organised Crime Unit – Cato Manor, were confronted in court on Friday with 116 charges involving 28 murders and a host of other alleged crimes.

Several of the murder charges involved alleged house break-ins, and the allegation is that police planted firearms next to the bodies of some victims, staging the killings as shoot-outs.

Fifty of the charges involve illegally possessing firearms or ammunition, or illegally pointing weapons.

There are 23 indictments involving defeating the course of justice, six of theft, nine of housebreaking/murder, an attempted murder, three involving assault with intent to to grievous bodily harm, one for malicious damage to property, and two involving racketeering.

According to an 88-page indictment presented in a Durban Regional Court this morning the policemen’s illegal acts “constitute a pattern of racketeering activities”.

The indictment alleged that “unlawful activities of the enterprise” began from May 2008 to September 2011 through a “pattern of racketeering activities.”

“They killed members of the KwaMaphumulo Taxi Association which was in conflict with the Stanger Taxi Association, ordinary civilians and/or suspects and criminal gangs suspected of ATM bombings,” according to the indictment.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za