Cash heist: cops missed paypoint duty

01/07/2015. The aftermath of the armed robbery at Net 1 Financial Services, Soshanguve Plaza which left 12 people injured. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

01/07/2015. The aftermath of the armed robbery at Net 1 Financial Services, Soshanguve Plaza which left 12 people injured. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

Published Jul 5, 2015

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Johannesburg - The Soshanguve Plaza heist in which 11 people were wounded has exposed the lack of co-ordination between the police and the security company delivering cash to pension paypoints – and highlighted the possibility that a gang bust years ago might have regrouped.

Nine senior citizens and two security guards were injured when a gang of 12 opened fire as guards were delivering money to the Net 1 Financial Services outlet at the shopping centre, which is about 200m from the Rietgat police station, on Wednesday morning.

It is understood that the gang confronted the Fidelity Guards cash van as the guards were off-loading money about 6.10am for a pension paypoint at the centre.

The gunmen fired at random, wounding two men and seven women and two guards, and seized a box that contained about R350 000 in cash.

 

The suspects abandoned a white BMW at the scene and, according to reports, fled in a Tata.

Police found about 29 spent 9mm cartridges, a Taurus revolver and a live round on the scene.

The Sunday Independent has established that it is practice for police to provide extra security at a paypoint on the day pensions are paid.

However, on this particular Wednesday, there was no police presence.

Police spokesman Lolo Mangena confirmed that the police were supposed to be present during the delivery of the cash by the guards.

“Our police and reservists usually provide the additional security on grant payout days at paypoints, at about 7am.

“But it seems that on Wednesday it was different, because the guards arrived about an hour earlier than usual.”

Mangena confirmed that a manhunt had been launched. No one had been arrested.

The pensioners who were wounded were treated at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital in nearby Ga-Rankuwa and have been discharged.

The heist is reminiscent of a robbery in June 2008, when a 12-man gang robbed the G4S security company of R1.7 million in Soshanguve.

In court, the State alleged that the gang and the two G4S security guards had staged the robbery.

One of the guards was later found with more than R250 000 cash in his possession.

On the day of that robbery, the gang rammed a blue BMW into the cash van and injured the guards, before making off with cash.

On Thursday morning, a would-be robber was killed and a cash-in-transit guard critically wounded in a shoot-out during an attempted ATM robbery at the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg, west of Joburg.

Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said: “Two guards were collecting money from the ATM when they were confronted by two armed men. There was a shoot-out between the guards and the men. One of the suspects was fatally shot and the other one managed to run away.

“One of the guards was critically wounded and the other has minor injuries.”

Anyone with information about the robberies that could help the police with their investigations should contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111, or SMS information to Crime Line at 32211, at any hour.

The Sunday Independent

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