Two men were arrested for an alleged plot to kill a senior Durban Solid Waste (DSW) official, police said on Thursday.

The alleged plot surfaced after temporary DSW staff had been on strike for over a month.

Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said the men were apprehended in the Umbilo suburb on Wednesday afternoon. It was not yet known if the suspects were DSW staffers.

"We believe the two were in the process of committing a crime of murder on one of the senior members of DSW," he said.

The pair were in a car arriving at a location where their target was, when police sprung on them. Police found a petrol bomb, firearms and ammunition in their car.

Suspects to appear in court

"Crime Intelligence members had conducted an underground operation that led to the leak of information on the plot and we were able to carry out an operation to prevent the crime from taking place," Mdunge said.

The intended victim was not injured.

The suspects are due to appear at the Durban Magistrate's Court facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, possession of unlicensed firearms, ammunition and a petrol bomb.

Earlier this month, two DSW trucks were set alight in separate incidents in Durban's Kwa-Dabeka area.

The eThekwini fire department said crew were in the trucks at the time, collecting rubbish.

The staff were forced out of the trucks by two gunmen who then set the vehicles alight.

No one was injured in either incident.

Striking agency-employed DSW workers are demanding they be employed permanently by the municipality.