Another eight bodies, believed to be those of illegal miners, were found on Monday afternoon in New Modder, near Benoni.
This brings the total to 14 bodies recently discovered in the area after six more were found on Sunday morning by a passer-by near the railway line close to Snake Road in Benoni.
According to Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, the eight victims found in Unity Street on Monday had been stabbed and may have been shot before their bodies were dumped there.
“The motive for the killings might be linked to the rival gangs involved in illegal mining. It is unknown where they were slain. The bodies have not yet been identified,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini said a team of detectives had been appointed to investigate the killings. All 14 bodies were yet to be identified.
Earlier in the day, police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said the six bodies found on Sunday had gunshot wounds to the upper body, in the chest and the head. The men were aged between 20 and 35.
Masondo said police believe the six were also killed somewhere else and dumped in Benoni.
Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane said he condemned in the strongest terms the senseless murder of the 14 people.
Credit: IOL