Cops foil CIT heist at Tzaneen service station

Today, at about 10:30, outside Sugarloaf in Limpopo, Tzaneen, a multidisciplinary police team comprising of Crime Intelligence and a Tracking Team managed to foil a possible CIT robbery at a filling station and arrested four suspects.

The team was activated by Crime Intelligence for a possible CIT robbery at a filling station and conducted an observation operation, according to a statement issued by the office of National Commissioner of Police, General Khehla John Sitole.

The police noticed a white VW Polo TSI with a Mpumalanga registration number scouting the place and found that the registration number was false. There were also four suspicious men in the vicinity.

As the police approached the Polo and the suspicious men, a cash vehicle came in, and a shootout and car chase ensued, the statement said.

Four suspects were apprehended, one of them with a gun shot wound. The fifth suspect, who was armed, managed to flee the scene on foot. Police are on his trail. Two vehicles were seized, a VW Polo and a silver BMW.

“We applaud the swift action of our members in blue. We will not rest until we win the war on the scourge of cash in transit robberies. It is our responsibility to prevent, combat, investigate crime and create a safe and secure environment for South Africans,” said Police Minister Bheki Cele.

“The authority of the state will be felt and heard, we will continue with our pro-active approach in intercepting these robberies and squeeze the space for criminals,” Cele concluded.

Sitole has commended the Crime Intelligence and Tracking Team for swiftly acting on information that led to foiling the possible CIT robbery.

“CIT robberies threaten the safety of our communities as these brazen criminals do not hesitate to shoot their way out when confronted with possible arrest. I have to commend the bravery of our members who did not back down during a shoot-out and managed to arrest these suspects before they could commit robbery. This is as the result of the police’s pursuance on stamping the authority of the state,” Sitole said.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.