Couple shot, robbed at Joburg hotel
Man, wife shot after arriving from the airport
Gauteng police are looking for a gang of armed men who rob people who have just left OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park.
A husband and wife are fighting for their lives in a Johannesburg hospital after they were shot and seriously wounded during a robbery at a hotel in Morningside, Sandton.
Captain Mavela Masondo said the couple, who are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were picked up from the airport to the hotel by an Uber driver yesterday morning.
“The car had just arrived at the hotel at about 6am when they were approached by three armed men in a white BMW. They demanded the couple’s belongings but they resisted.
“The couple was shot and the suspects made off with their belongings, including jewellery, cellphones, cash and the woman’s handbag,” Masondo said.
He said the couple was in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The incident happened a day after a Moreleta Park family was robbed as they arrived home from the same airport at about 9am.
“They were approached by four armed men as they arrived at home. They were robbed of their belongings, including jewellery and cash.”
Masondo said the gangs used the same modus operandi.
“We have not made any arrests at the moment but have launched a manhunt for the suspects. We cannot rule out the possibility of a syndicate, but we are investigating.”
The incidents come only a few weeks after Police Minister Fikile Mbalula reportedly told MPs that he had sleepless nights when he thought of the crimes at the airport.
Mbalula said he had asked acting national police commissioner, Lesetja Mothiba, to urgently revisit security measures at the airport.
Security at the airport came under the spot light in March when armed men, some wearing SAPS uniforms, pulled off a brazen robbery and made off with millions of rands in foreign currency.
The two cars that the robbers were driving had sirens and flashing blue lights.