Cash-in-transit heists pushed to outskirts of SA as police arrest 42 suspects

Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced the arrest of 42 suspects involved in cash-in-transit (CIT) heists that have rocked the country of late.

Cele spoke at a media briefing on Thursday morning at the Tembisa police station.

Suspects arrested include alleged CIT heist kingpin Wellington ‘Bibi’ Cenenda and his accomplices.

READ MORE: Cops nab most-wanted alleged CIT heist kingpin ‘Bibi’ Cenenda

Although CIT heists are abundant, they typically operate in one province at a time. Cele explained that as police were aware of CIT heists and operated in many provinces, they would always be able to dispatch officers to deal with CIT heists.

“They are operating in one province. As the police, we are operating in four provinces. We are coordinated, we are working together to make sure that we are able to track one person together at a time.”

Cele reported that since the amount of CIT-related arrests in Gauteng, police have seen CIT incidents being pushed to the outskirts of the country, and away from Gauteng. “They want to increase their activities in KZN, Limpopo and the Free State.”

As a precaution to curb violence in the Western Cape, namely Cape Town’s Cape Flats, Cele explained that Operation Thunder involved dispatching almost 300 additional police officers to the region. Similar operations across the country will also be taking place.

In addition to CIT arrests, other offenders, namely those involved in gangsterism, violence, wildlife trafficking, murder incidents and cross-border incidents, have also been apprehended. Drug lords, manufacturers and consumers have also been under the radar.

Cele reported that there have been 1 000 less drug-related cases this year, when compared to 2017. Millions of grams of drugs have been confiscated in various operations.

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