CAPE TOWN: South African police killed nine suspected robbers in a shootout during a foiled cash heist in Sebokeng, a township south of Johannesburg, on Thursday.
A police response team traced the group as they were on their way to attack a vehicle carrying money in the morning.
“A shootout ensued,” police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said. “A total of eight suspects were certified dead at the scene while the ninth suspect died in hospital”.
Three others were wounded and taken to a nearby medical facility. The group was believed to be behind a spate of cash heists on armoured security trucks in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province and surrounding areas.
Common crimes in South Africa
Six rifles, explosives “ready to be detonated” and four vehicles were seized at the scene, Mathe said.
Cash heists on armoured security trucks are common in crime-ridden South Africa, and robbers often target them.
Earlier this week, two bystanders were killed and one wounded after they were caught up in a robbery in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, and randomly shot at.
