UPDATE: Robbery at OR Tambo foiled – one suspect shot dead

A swift response by the South African Police Service‚ Metro Police and airport security resulted in an armed robbery at the cargo terminal of Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport being foiled on Saturday morning.

One suspect was shot in the incident while another was arrested.

Police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said that at about 10am on Saturday a group of about eight suspects‚ some of whom were wearing a security company’s reflector jackets‚ entered the cargo terminal in two cars. Some suspects took control of the main gate while the others proceeded to a Swiss-port warehouse and stole a truck carrying cellphones.

“Police were alerted through mechanisms which form part of the joint reactive strategies being employed to combat robberies at the airport.

“The suspects fled in different directions. Two suspects fled on foot across the R21 highway. One suspect was shot dead in a shootout with a Gauteng K9 member and the second was arrested. Two firearms‚ including a pistol and a revolver were recovered from these suspects‚” Naidoo said.

He said another part of the group fled in the hijacked truck which was later abandoned on the R24 before the suspects fled on foot. Another group fled in a sedan which they hijacked from one of the airport security personnel This vehicle was later recovered in Alexander but these suspects managed to get away.

“In the meantime police will be continuing with vigorous discussions with the management of the warehouse security on the aspect of the protection of the security clothing and equipment. The easy accessibility or the lack of protection thereof is exacerbating the efforts by police to prevent these robberies from taking place. Inside involvement in this robbery cannot be ruled out at this stage and this too is what is possibly compounding the efforts of police to be effectively proactive‚” Naidoo said.

He said the case was being investigated by the recently established multi-disciplinary team comprising of‚ among others‚ specialised investigators‚ Crime Intelligence and Forensic Experts.

“The two suspects‚ both the dead suspect as well as the arrested suspect and the recovered firearms will be profiled to determine if they were involved in other similar crimes. Police also found scanner devices that control the gate in the possession of the dead suspect and another in the recovered vehicle in Alexander‚” Naidoo added.