Suspected kingpin in Chinese murder arrested

A 39-year-old man linked to the brutal murder of a Chinese businessman at Rundu in the Kavango East Region last week, was arrested at Otjiwarongo. The Namibian Police’s Otjozondjupa Regional Crime Investigations’ Officer, Deputy Commissioner Moses Khairabeb, told Nampa yesterday that the suspected robber was arrested on Monday afternoon. His name is known, but cannot be revealed as he is yet to appear in court. Khairabeb said the suspect is a well known, hardcore, armed robber in the Otjozondjupa Region, specifically in the Omaruru area. Several items stolen from Farm Pleston north of Otjiwarongo where an armed robbery occurred recently, were also recovered from a shack where the suspect was hiding in Otjiwarongo’s Ombili informal settlement. A number of bank deposits slips were likewise found in his possession. Khairabeb said the suspect was arrested in a successfully-organised police operation. “We have sufficient evidence which links him to the murder of a Chinese businessman in Rundu, as well as the armed robbery which occurred at Shitemo in the Kavango East Region,” he stated. The suspect was not armed during his arrest on Monday, but he used to be armed at all times at night, the top police chief noted. The suspect was transported by the police to Rundu, where he is expected to appear in court this week. Meanwhile, the 57-year-old Gao Li was found dead in a pool of blood in the bathroom at his home in Rundu’s Rainbow Village residential area last Wednesday. It was alleged that a gang of robbers might have forced their way into his house by cutting the burglar bars of the bathroom window. It is thought that the Chinese businessman fought back when the alleged armed robbers entered his house, as bloodstains could be seen all over the house. Khairabeb added that more arrests are expected in Otjiwarongo, as some accomplices of the arrested suspect have apparently purchased vehicles with money they had probably stolen. OTJIWARONGO NAMPA