Three shot dead in Lotus River

Three men have been shot dead in Lotus River.

Gruesome pictures are circulating on social media of three men who were shot dead in Lotus River last week.

The pictures show the men lying close to each other with gunshot wounds to their heads.

They were shot on a field in Gemsbok Avenue, on Tuesday August 24, at about 7.15pm, say police.

The men, aged 31, 35 and 37, were well known in the community, and one was a vagrant who slept on the field, said Grassy Park police spokesman Captain Wynita Kleinsmith.

The motive for the killings is unknown.

“They were not gangsters, but they were drug addicts, sitting in Gemsbok Avenue smoking when gunmen came past, shot them and ran away into Fourth Avenue, to Buck Road,” said Grassy Park station commander Colonel Dawood Liang.

No arrests have been made. The police’s Anti-Gang Unit is investigating.

Grassy Park CPF chairman Melvyn Jonkers said there had been sporadic shootings in Lotus River, Parkwood and Ottery in recent weeks.

“From the information we receive, the friction between gangs is because they are trying to move into each other’s territory,” he said.

He urged anyone with information to come forward.

Colonel Liang said Lotus River had been quiet for the past two weeks before the shootings in Gemsbok Avenue. Information provided would be treated confidentially, he said. Call the station at 021 700 3940 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111

Police arrested a man and seized 200 packets of tik in Overcome Heights last week.

• Muizenberg police arrested a suspected drug dealer and seized 200 packets of tik in Overcome Heights last week.

Officers on patrol found the drugs on a known JFK gang member on Monday night August 24.

The 39-year-old man was arrested on drug-dealing charges, according to Muizenberg police station commander Colonel Vassie Naidoo.