Mpumalanga cop arrested, money recovered from sangoma after cash-in-transit heist

A Mpumalanga police officer was arrested and R30 000 recovered from a sangoma in connection with a cash-in-transit heist.

Constable Zacharia Makgaolane Magopa appeared in the Vaalbank Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after he was arrested on Tuesday. He has allegedly been linked to a cash-in-transit heist that took place on Monday.

“Three security guards were transporting an undisclosed amount of money to several ATMs around Moutse West. The security guards were accosted by unknown suspects driving in an Audi Q3 and a Mercedes-Benz.

“Several shots were fired at the armed vehicle causing it to come to standstill, ” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.

She added the guards were disarmed and an undisclosed amount of money was taken after the robbers blew up the cash van.

They fled the scene in a Mercedes-Benz, Q3, and an Audi A4 which were later found abandoned.

“It was later established through further investigation that the Mercedes-Benz vehicle was stolen, as per a Jeppe case, in February 2020. The A4 was stolen in Yeoville in December 2020 and the Q3 was reported as stolen in Sebenza in October 2020,” said Sekgotodi.

The money that was recovered from the sangoma is said to have been used to perform rituals for their protection to evade arrest.

The accused will be back in court on 11 February 2021 for a bail application.

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