Pietermaritzburg - Three men on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to a R700 000 cash heist at a pension payout in Hammarsdale.
Lindokuhle Duma, 39, of Pinetown, and Njabulo Nxumalo, 31, and Mandla Bhengu, 41, both of KwaMashu, have been charged with the theft of a vehicle, robbery with aggravating circumstances, six counts of attempted murder and the unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition.
The State alleges the three conspired to commit the cash heist some time before the incident, and decided to steal a car to commit the robbery.
The Opel Corsa bakkie was stolen in May 2013. They then settled on robbing a security vehicle which was used to pay pensioners at a pension point at the Ncinci Community Hall in Hammarsdale.
Armed with AK-47 rifles and a .38 special revolver, the robbers scoped out their target on June 14, 2013.
The armoured vehicle arrived at the hall guarded by Fidelity security guards.
Pension officials had begun paying out the pensioners when the robbers pounced and accosted the pension officials and guards at gunpoint, demanding the cash boxes.
The robbers removed the canisters containing the cash and also stole the security guards’ firearms, which included a Vector LM Automatic rifle, a Maverick shotgun and an Uzi submachine gun, as well as live ammunition.
In the scuffle with the security guards, one guard, identified as Dumisani Nzuza, was shot and wounded. The robbers then sped off in the stolen bakkie.
Police were alerted and pursued the robbers, who opened fire on the five policemen, none of whom was injured.
The trio were later arrested and found in possession of the stolen firearms.
The trial is proceeding in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.