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Cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies are a complex business, and it takes anything between three and 17 months of meticulous planning to execute a robbery.
This is according to criminologist, Hennie Lochner, who was reacting to the recent spate of CIT robberies.
Speaking to The Citizen on Thursday, Lochner said the reason these crimes are not stopped is because CIT robbers are using the same crime intelligence gathering processes used by the police, and sometimes to better effect.
“Just like the police, CIT robbers identify their targets, hence it takes them months to plan their execution, and they don’t just take any person on the street, they recruit people according to their needs.
“Also these groups don’t always use the same people because there is always an element of mistrust between themselves. For instance, if they tell you to shoot a person in the leg and you fail to do that, they regard you as not being brave,” he said.
Lochner said even in the event where 15 suspects have been arrested and one of them is released on bail or charges against them are withdrawn, that person is very likely to go ahead and start their own heist gang.
He stressed that these robbers always use the same modus operandi, but have also added using explosives to their repertoire of robberies.
“The question is what kind of explosives are they using, is it commercial and who is providing them with the explosives?
“Another example, the Boeremag case, they were planning to destabilise the country but their plan was thwarted by the country’s intelligence. But why can’t the police or intelligence also do the same [with CIT].
“We can prevent most of these robberies, but in the absence of good intelligence, these crimes will never stop,” Lochner said.
He explained that these robbers often start with smaller crimes, but consider themselves to be progressing as criminals, in what he described as their “criminal careers”.
“They always start somewhere, from breaking into people’s homes and car hijacking, before moving on to the big crimes, such as CIT robberies.
“There is some sort of a hierarchy… For example, if you stole more bicycles, you are then seen as a hero or a kingpin,” Lochner said.
In a recent incident, three security guards were driving from Bara Mall, headed towards Orlando East, when they were allegedly accosted by an unknown number of suspects who brought their vehicle to a standstill.
ALSO READ: Manhunt for suspects involved in CIT robbery in Soweto
Activist Yusuf Abramjee, who monitors these incidents and other crimes in the country, echoed Lochner’s sentiments, saying there has been a dramatic increase.
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“These are organised gangs and they strike with military precision, they are brazen, they have heavy firepower, and they have lots of vehicles, and they are adamant that they want the cash.
“They strike in broad daylight, like we have seen in the last couple of days again. And, Gauteng is the hotspot, there’s no doubt about that… So I don’t know why the police are dragging their feet,” Abramjee said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the South African Police Service (SAPS), Colonel Athlenda Mathe, said a multi-disciplinary team has been assembled at a national level and in hotspot provinces to prevent and combat CIT robberies.
“The team consists of members from the Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, Tactical Response Teams, Visible Policing, Crime Intelligence, Hawks and private security.
“We continue to work closely with all other stakeholders such as South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) and cash solutions security companies to prevent, combat and investigate such incidents,” she said.
On successes, Mathe said since February this year, there are currently 225 arrests and 306 cases appearing before the courts.
“107 firearms have been recovered, which include 59 pistols and 49 rifles. 108 high performance vehicles have been seized,” Mathe added.
Mathe does not agree with Abramjee’s sentiments that the police are dragging their feet.
“It’s an all hands on deck approach and we are tightening our grip in all these provinces,” Mathe added.
The current hotspot provinces include Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The police are also starting to see an increase in the Western Cape.
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