NTUZUMA - Two crime scenes in Ntuzuma just north of Durban this afternoon and a total of nine deaths, but the police minister believes a ringleader of criminal networks in the area is among those to have been killed.
In the first incident one police officer and four suspects killed, and at a second scene, four suspects shot dead by police.
One officer was wounded and is in hospital.
Minister Cele says the police will continue to fight fire with fire..
He said, "as a government, as South African Police, I'm saying that the police must go out there and make sure that communities are safe."
"And the response must be equal to what has happened, you can't just lose the member and be normal and all that."
"As I said and I repeat it, the only prize to pay for that member and for that long list of twelve people that were killed in two months, and October is still on, which means this guy was still going to increase his list."
"The only prize for that is those that he has been working with because he has not been working alone, their prize must be the blood."