In a shootout with police, nine suspected robbers were killed in Johannesburg on Thursday, April 6, 2023, South African authorities said, facing a major rise in crime.
Police foiled an attack on a cash convoy.
She had located the team just before it took action, in Sebokeng, a township south of Johannesburg, when the suspects were already on their way to attack a cash transport vehicle on Thursday morning.
“
A shooting ensued
,” police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said in a statement: “
A total of eight suspects were pronounced dead at the scene, while the ninth suspect died at the scene. 'hospital
'.
Three others were injured.
The group was suspected of being behind a series of burglaries in the Johannesburg area.
High crime
Six rifles, " ready to detonate
" explosives
and four vehicles were seized at the scene, the police spokeswoman said.
Money convoys are regularly targeted by criminals in South Africa, a country plagued by high crime.
This week, two bystanders were killed and another injured after they found themselves at the scene of a robbery in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
Murders in South Africa have risen further, according to the latest official crime figures released in February.
Between October and December 2022, 7,555 people were murdered, including 3,144 with a firearm, according to police statistics.
That's more than 82 murders per day, an increase of more than 10% compared to the same period last year.