By Sihle Mlambo 
12m ago
Johannesburg – Dramatic video footage which shows cash-in-transit (CIT) guards under attack from armed suspects in Pretoria has emerged on social media, showing a cash van driver expertly navigating his truck to safety despite facing a hail of bullets from his attackers.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said there had been three CIT robberies reported in April. Two CIT robberies took place in Gauteng, and the other in the Western Cape.
One incident reported in the Western Cape was foiled, along with the viral Pretoria incident on April 22, which showed a cash van driver expertly driving the money van from danger while under fire during a high speed chase.
In the third incident, which took place in Fairlands, Johannesburg, suspects rammed a cash van and used explosives. They got away with an undisclosed amount of money and shot the cash van driver on his upper right arm.
“We have made significant arrests, we are foiling more of these incidents,” said Naidoo, speaking to IOL on Monday.
“The private security companies along with the police, especially in Gauteng, have put joint initiatives in place and they are working.
“We can’t go into the details about those, but they are proving effective in dealing with this problem of cash-in-transit robberies,” said Naidoo.
Commenting on the viral video of the foiled CIT robbery in Pretoria, which happened along the N4 highway, Naidoo said police were yet to make any arrests.
“The suspects fired several shots at the CIT vehicle in an attempt to stop it during a high speed chase. The driver of the CIT vehicle managed to evade the robbers for a while but later stopped in wait for the robbers. The robbers fled without taking any money,” he said.
In the latest incident, which played out in Fairlands, Naidoo said the cash van was attacked while on its way to the Fochville President Hyper.
He said the cash van was travelling along JB Marks Road when suspects in a white Lexus, with the registration HK23PM-GP, rammed into their CIT vehicle.
“The driver of the Lexus lost control and drove into the yard of a private premises. The driver of the CIT vehicle in the meantime managed to balance the CIT vehicle, but suspects in two other vehicles began shooting at the CIT vehicle, forcing the driver to stop.
“The suspects forced the driver and two security guards seated at the back out of the CIT vehicle, and disarmed them of three firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition.
“The suspects then gained access to the money using an explosive device and removed an undisclosed amount before driving off in a white BMW 3 Series and a white Audi A3 with unknown registration,” he said.
Naidoo said a woman who was found in possession of the getaway cars was arrested on Sunday morning during an intelligence operation.
“Following an intelligence driven operation at 1:30 yesterday morning two vehicles used to commit the heist were found in a house in Carletonville and a woman, who is the owner of the house, has been arrested for possession of suspected stolen vehicles and defeating the ends of justice.
“The two vehicles were a BMW reported hijacked in Brooklyn in March this year, and an Audi reported stolen in Garsfontein also in March this year,” said Naidoo.
IOL
Credit IOL