Johannesburg - Bodies of seven people believed to be illegal miners were discovered in an open veld in Benoni on Sunday morning.
The bodies were already decomposed when they were found. Allegations are that the men were shot and killed somewhere else then dumped near a mine shaft in Benoni.
According to police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, a member of the public stumbled upon the bodies and then alerted them.
"The bodies are already in a state of decomposition. They might have been dumped two or three days before they were found," he said.
Although the bodies had not yet been identified, Dlamini said it was suspected that they were those of foreigners who are involved in an illegal mining in the area.
"Police are also appealing to anyone with information relating to the identity of the bodies as well as information about the perpetrators to come forward," he said.
Seven cases of murder have been opened.