Death-defying tale behind heist video

Cool heads and nerves of steel saved two young men from being killed during the cash-in-transit (CIT) heist in Crocodile Gorge on Wednesday.

André Redman and Attie Engelbrecht shared with Lowvelder the nerve-racking events that led to them shooting a video of the heist on the N4.

The video, taken with Engelbrecht’s smartphone, has been widely published.

On Lowvelder‘s website alone, it was viewed 140 000 times within the first 24 hours of being uploaded.

Redman and Engelbrecht unwittingly drove right into the action soon after the heist gang rammed a Fidelity CIT vehicle, immobilising the crew.

“We were right there in their faces,” said Redman. “The initial online stories mentioned a white bakkie as one of the vehicles used by the robbers, but that was our bakkie!”

Both work for Olspa Logistics, whose fleets operate between Middelburg, Hectorspruit and Mozambique.

As they approached the bend where the crime was being committed, they heard gunshots.

“I asked Attie, ‘who is shooting?’ At the same moment I saw the group of men scurrying between two BMWs and the Fidelity bakkie. They had rammed the Fidelity vehicle with the white and silver BMWs, and were blocking the road.”

When they came upon the action, Redman, who was driving, could not brake immediately because there was a truck close behind them. In the next few seconds, Redman and Engelbrecht witnessed the robbers manhandling the CIT guards away from the vehicle.

When he managed to come to a stop, they were very close to the scene.

One of the robbers turned around and approached them with his R5 assault rifle pointed at them, and shouted at them to leave. This was when the two realised they were in grave danger.

“I indicated to the man that I cannot back off because there are cars behind me, but when we looked back there were no vehicles in sight. They had all fled the scene.”

Redman quickly turned the bakkie around and moved some distance back, but stopped to watch. Engelbrecht managed to capture the moment the safe was blown open, on camera. Redman phoned the police.

The robbers loaded the money into their BMWs and fled in the direction of Mbombela shortly afterwards. The N4 was closed for hours on Wednesday afternoon as police launched a manhunt for the suspects. At the time of going to press, none had been apprehended.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the attackers shot at the vehicle until it came to a stop. One guard was assaulted, but not seriously injured. The heist follows that of Monday’s in which a SBV vehicle was ambushed on Long Tom Pass.

The company is offering a reward of R1 million for information. The amounts of money stolen in the heists are unconfirmed. No correlation between the two incidents has been determined.

– Caxton News Service

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