The past few weeks have seen yet another spate of brazen cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies as organised criminals left their mark in several provinces on a shopping spree for large amounts of cash.
This follows cash-in-transit heists in the last month in our city. Businesses are urged to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious in the area when money is collected.
The latest attempted cash-in-transit heist took place on the Verena road on Tuesday, August 1. The suspects did not get away with any money, as they were not able to get the explosives into the SBV van on time, before the backup vehicle arrived.
The suspects were warned to be armed and dangerous. It is still unclear how many suspects were involved in the last attempted heist.
The WITBANK NEWS reported that two cash-in-transit heists took place within three days. The first heist took place in the Central Business District on Monday, July 3 where an undisclosed amount of money was taken from a G4S van. Another took place at Totally Gas on Saturday, July 1, a Fidelity van had just stopped when they heard gunshots.
According to news reports by SABRIC, the country has already suffered a loss of R15 million in CIT robberies between January and April 2017. This number has almost certainly risen since then.
“The 2015/2016 national crime statistics indicated a 15% increase in CIT robberies, proving that organised crime remains very active in the cash economy,” says Richard Phillips, joint CEO of Cash Connect and an expert in cash management and logistics.
“This threatens the very artery that feeds our economy.”
Armed robberies are executed by seasoned and experienced criminals who organise themselves into syndicates. These hardened and extremely dangerous gangsters primarily target CIT armoured vehicles, ATMs and retail cash deposit devices.
Mr Richard Phillips, joint Chief Executive Officer of Cash Connect.
The sheer scale of their operations requires considerable planning, equipment and finance. These criminals are therefore regarded as among the most dangerous and well organised in the country.
Phillips adds,
“With the cash in circulation figure at around R130 billion, retail businesses will remain a priority target for professional crime syndicates. We believe that retailers in South Africa deserve to trade in a safe and secure business environment. In view of the current increase in armoured vehicle heists, cross pavement attacks and armed robberies against retailers, we urge business owners to be extra vigilant.”
Security professionals offer precautionary measures like:
Preventing cash from becoming a target by regularly depositing takings into the cash deposit device and keeping cash at points-of-sale to a minimum.
Keep in mind that robbers carefully survey their targets before an attack. Therefore be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles and people lurking in the area.
ALSO READ
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/96305/cash-transit-robbers-run-wild/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/96684/cit-suspects-wanted/
