Browsing: Crime and courts

A 23 year old woman was shot dead during an alleged robbery in Tembisa on Monday morning, 28 September 2026, as Gauteng police continued investigating a series of women’s deaths in Ekurhuleni and a mass shooting that killed 17 people in Wedela over the weekend. The woman was reportedly on her way to work when she was attacked on Mapungubwe Street at approximately 5:45am. Police have opened a murder and robbery investigation and are searching for those responsible.

Gauteng residents can use the provincial government’s free Gauteng e Panic Button app to request emergency assistance when they face danger. Launched in 2024, the initiative uses smartphone location information to connect people in distress with an emergency response network. Residents across Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng and the West Rand can also prepare personal safety kits, save emergency contacts and familiarise themselves with available support services before an emergency occurs.

Police have dismantled a suspected Mandrax manufacturing laboratory in Erasmia, Pretoria, where drugs and equipment valued at about R110 million were seized during a wider nationwide crackdown on the illicit drug trade. Two Mozambican nationals were arrested during the Gauteng operation, which involved the Hawks, Crime Intelligence, K9 West Rand and the Special Task Force Pretoria.

The South African Police Service arrested a 45 year old suspected drug mule at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, 7 September 2026, after allegedly finding two kilograms of suspected cocaine worth more than R800 000 in his luggage. The traveller was allegedly heading to Hong Kong, China, and became the second suspected drug mule arrested at the Gauteng airport in four days.

A Johannesburg businessman who was kidnapped at his business premises in Cleveland has been rescued unharmed following a multidisciplinary South African Police Service (SAPS) operation that resulted in the arrest of four suspects. The businessman was allegedly abducted on Saturday, 15 August 2026, before suspects reportedly accessed his bank account and demanded a ransom for his release. Police arranged a controlled ransom drop that led to the arrests, the recovery of two vehicles and four cellphones believed to have been used in the crime. The suspects are expected to appear before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 19 August 2026.

Police and crime experts are investigating whether illegal mining disputes may have played a role in the mass shooting that left 12 people dead and at least nine others injured at Jumpers Informal Settlement in Cleveland, Johannesburg. The Cleveland shooting took place on the night of 9 June 2026 and is now one of the deadliest shootings recorded in Gauteng this year.