Gauteng Premier David Makhura has commended law enforcement teams for their bravery, following a deadly shooting in Rosettenville in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon.

"We commend the Gauteng multi-disciplinary law enforcement teams for working together in a sophisticated manner which led to the arrest of these criminals.

"As the provincial government, we value their determination to win the war against crime," Makhura said.

He said the provincial government had established a war room on fighting crime as part of efforts to build "safer communities".

"The war room on crime brings together all spheres of government, civil society, the private sector and critical stakeholders, ensuring that together, we build a safer Gauteng.

"There is no place for criminals to hide in Gauteng. We call upon the people of Gauteng to join hands with the government in the fight against crime," he said.

On Monday, a gang of about 25 heavily armed cash-in-transit robbers led police on a high-speed chase through the suburb, trading salvos of gunfire as they weaved through traffic. Dead bodies littered the streets.

During his visit to the scene later that evening, Police Minister Bheki Cele said eight gunmen were shot dead, and four police officers were taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Another eight men were arrested. Cele said the men were from Zimbabwe, KwaZulu-Natal and Botswana.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela said the group was plotting a cash-in-transit bombing but was intercepted by a highly trained police team.

"There was a money truck which they were observing and they were going to hit it, but our members said prevention is better than cure," he said.

Mawela confirmed that their plan had been in the offing for days and was eventually undone when intelligence was channelled to the officers who laid in wait.

"Last week, they didn't commit their crime. So today, they decided to commit their crime [but] our teams were just behind them and when they realised that here are the police, they were rushing to their safe house. That is when our team, highly trained, dealt with them," he added.

Two of the injured policemen were airlifted from the scene by two Netcare911 air ambulances to the Union and Milpark hospitals.

Gauteng police said an updated and detailed report would be released on Tuesday.

Last week, two Crime Intelligence officers were among six people arrested after a sting operation in Pretoria on Saturday by the Hawks and several other law enforcement agencies.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said at the time that a multi-disciplinary team swiftly acted on information received about a syndicate that's allegedly linked to a series of armed robberies in Gauteng. They were planning an armed robbery in Pretoria.

The team recovered several firearms and ammunition, stolen vehicles, and fake Hawks regalia.

Makhura condemned the two officers who were arrested in the incident.

"We expect them to serve and protect communities from criminals. We are disappointed [and] expect the law to take its course. Those who engage in criminal activities must face the full might of the law," Makhura said.