Cash-in-transit heists ‘to persist’ until crime intelligence unit is fixed – ISS
Tuesday’s brazen attack was the second in Pretoria this month.
The scene of an attempted cash in transit robbery on Atlas road in Boksburg, 5 July 2018. One of the suspects was shot dead and a guard injured during the shootout. Picture: Neil McCartney
Cash-in-transit heists have made a return in Gauteng and are expected to continue being a crime of concern until the police crime intelligence unit is fixed, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said yesterday.
Pretoria has become the latest target of such heists as it was hit by a second one this month. A cash-in-transit vehicle was attacked with explosives in Lotus Gardens, west of the capital, just before sunset on Tuesday. The robbers fired shots at the vehicle, forcing it to come to a stop and disarmed the guards. Explosives were then used to blow open the vehicle’s safe before the armed robbers fled with an undisclosed amount of money and the guards’ pistols.
Police managed to locate and arrest one of the robbers several hours later at a house in Atteridgeville, police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said.
“Intelligence led the police team to a house in Kgokong Street, Atteridgeville, where they arrested one suspect and recovered two vehicles which were used by the robbers. The team also recovered a Norinco 9mm pistol which belongs to one of the guards, and ammunition, as well as tens of thousands of rands,” said Naidoo.
A money bag was also found in the boot of one of the getaway vehicles while the owner of the house was arrested for unlawful possession of arms and ammunition and for being in possession of property suspected to be stolen, Naidoo said.
A third vehicle was also recovered at a house in Kalafong. Such brazen attacks would continue unless the crime intelligence was efficient, ISS researcher Johan Burger said.
“Once they [syndicates] start organising themselves, the crime intelligence unit should act before it gets worse. But because our crime intelligence does not yet have the quality of intelligence needed to proactively act against these syndicates, they will keep coming at us until we fix the efficiency in the unit,” Burger said.
Two suspects appeared before the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court yesterday for another cash-in-transit heist in Laudium earlier this month, which was caught on CCTV camera.
– rorisangk@citizen.co.za
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