Armed robbers masquerading as police have staged an audacious cash heist at Johannesburg airport in South Africa, stealing $US15 million ($A20 million), the newspaper Times Live reports.
Police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi declined to confirm the amount of money stolen, or to give other details.
"[The amount of $US15 million] is speculation, we are not sure," he told DPA, promising to release information when investigators had finished their work.
The South African Government News Agency tweeted that the robbers "removed an undisclosed amount of money."
Times Live said a group of men, some of whom wore police uniforms, drove in a police van and two other vehicles into a security area of the airport, entering with special access passes on Tuesday.
They pulled out guns and held up security guards.
While some of them manned the gate, others drove towards a container filled with cash in dollars, pounds and euros that was destined for an unknown recipient in London.
Some of the robbers held up the driver of a tractor hauling the container, while others broke the container open and grabbed 27 bags filled with money. They then got away without firing a shot.
"To pull off such a heist, one needs to know flight numbers, arrival and take-off times ... The only way to get this information is from an airline or security company insider," Times Live quoted an unidentified source as saying.
The robbery also sparked suspicions that corrupt police officers were involved.
