Two suspected armed robbers have been shot dead in a fire-fight with police in a Butterworth township.
Police spokesperson, captain Jackson Manatha, says a third gunman managed to escape.
He says the three had been in the process of robbing a Somali owned spaza shop in the early hours of this morning when police were alerted by one of the Somalis.
Manatha says members of the Msobomvu police responded swiftly to the call and managed to trap the robbers inside the shop.
He says the robbers opened fire and police returned fire, killing two men.
"Police recovered one pistol with one round of ammunition from one of the deceased suspects and a toy gun. The pistol will be sent to ballistics to determine if it was used in another crime. Mandrax tablets were also recovered from the deceased" Manatha said.
