Sidewalk CIT shocks Mbombela CBD
Gunshots were fired in Brown Street on Saturday morning when a sidewalk cash-in-transit robbery took place.
The incident occurred at approximately 11:30 when three suspects overpowered the security guards of G4S in Short Brown Street. According to the local police, the suspects were armed with what is believed to be a type of rifle.
The security van had parked in the street close to a local shop to collect money. As the guard walked back to the cash van, he was attacked by the suspects.
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They managed to steal a bag containing an undisclosed amount of money. Shots were fired, but no casualties were reported.
Witnesses allegedly confirmed that there were only three suspects seen on the scene. These men managed to escape in a white Isuzu bakkie, and was last seen fleeing via the Valencia Road in Mbombela. The getaway vehicle was later found abandoned in nearby bushes.
The empty money bag was also retrieved in the vicinity. The shock trolley was allegedly recovered in Kamagugu. It is not sure if the shock trolley was ever activated. At the time of going to print, G4S could not be reached for comment.
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A shock trolley is used as a secure cross-pavement carrier of large sums of money. Its features include long-range remote-control activation of high voltage, from between 50 and 100 metres.
The Ministry of Police recently released the 2018/2019 crime statistics, and the rate of cash-in-transit heists in South Africa has declined significantly, by 23,1 per cent.
The robbery of cash-in-transit heists peaked at 358 reported cases in 2009/2010; this trend has been on a decline through the years, and it reached 183 reported cases in the 2018/2019 financial year.
