South African police say 18 suspected robbers killed in shootout

Officers in South Africa have killed 18 suspected robbers during a shootout in Limpopo province, according to police.

Officers in South Africa have killed 18 suspected robbers during a shootout in Limpopo province, according to police.

The suspects were believed to be planning a cash truck heist, also called a cash-in-transit (CIT) heist, and were responsible for similar crimes in other provinces, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said on Friday from the crime scene in South Africa’s northernmost province.

“We do believe this syndicate has been involved in a number of CITs in this province, Mpumalanga and Gauteng,” Masemola told reporters in Makhado, about 400km (250 miles) northeast of Johannesburg.

One police officer was “injured very seriously” in the shootout, which lasted about 90 minutes, he added.

According to police, who had been tracking the suspects’ movements for a few days, an investigation began in January with the help of the country’s intelligence unit.