Bodies ‘could be those of illegal miners’

Police suspect rival gangs responsible

The bodies of seven people‚ suspected to be illegal miners‚ were discovered in an open veld near a mine shaft in Benoni‚ east of Johannesburg, yesterday.

“It is suspected that they all have been shot and killed somewhere [else] and the bodies later dumped. Police have opened murder cases for investigation‚” Gauteng police spokesman Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.

He said that police were informed by a member of the public who saw the bodies in an open veld.

Dlamini said the bodies were already in a state of decomposition.

“They might have been dumped two or three days before they were found.

“The bodies are suspected to be of foreign nationals who are involved in illegal mining in the area – although they have not yet been identified‚” Dlamini said.

In March‚ 14 bodies of suspected illegal miners were found in two separate locations in Benoni.

A passerby discovered the bodies of six suspected illegal miners near a railway station in Benoni.

Police, at the time, said they suspected the men‚ who were shot in their chests and heads‚ were murdered elsewhere and their bodies dumped next to Van Ryn train station.

Another eight bodies‚ also suspected to be those of illegal miners‚ were found in Unity Street‚ 5km away from the train station.

Police said the motive for the murders of those dumped at Unity Street might be linked to rival gangs involved in illegal mining.