Johannesburg - Johannesburg International Airport was robbed three times in July, police said. The latest heist occurred on Tuesday evening but details were only made public on Friday. Seven robbers armed with AK47 assault rifles and hand guns held up airport guards around 9pm and stole an undisclosed amount of US dollars after gaining access to the "airside" or controlled runway area of the airport.
Police spokesperson Inspector Jacob Motabi said a top-level task team had been appointed to crack the case and two others earlier in the month. The guards were apparently escorting goods from a Swissair aircraft.
The robbers also made off with the guards' service pistols. No arrests have yet been made. Swissair has refused to comment on the incident and an Airports Company of SA spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Access to that area is tightly controlled by way of a limited number of entry points.
Closed-circuit television cameras also monitor most of the airport's vast grounds.
Another robbery took place on July 26 when four armed gunmen robbed a guard in the airport terminal of a firearm and two hand-held radios. In the third incident, on July 17, two armed robbers robbed a shop of cash, two cellphones and some rolls of film.