Three arrested, two injured in attempted cash-in transit robbery in Macassar

An attempt to rob a cash-in transit vehicle in Macassar, where two people were injured, resulted in the arrest of three suspects in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch this afternoon. Picture: Screengrab

An attempt to rob a cash-in transit vehicle in Macassar, where two people were injured, resulted in the arrest of three suspects in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch this afternoon. Picture: Screengrab

Published Apr 29, 2021

Share

Cape Town – An attempt to rob a cash-in-transit vehicle in Macassar, where two people were injured, resulted in the arrest of three suspects in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch this afternoon.

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said a security guard and a police official were injured as the suspects fired shots at them.

Mathe said five firearms as well as several vehicles were later seized in Stellenbosch.

She said reports at the disposal of the police indicated several suspects attempted to rob an SBV vehicle at a shopping Macassar at 11.40am on Thursday.

“The armed suspects fired several shots at the cash-in-transit vehicle injuring one security guard,” said Mathe, the police were alerted and responded.

She said they came under attack and as a result one police sergeant was shot by suspects who were fleeing.

Mathe said police reinforcements consisting of local police, TRT and air support managed to track the suspects at the Kayamandi taxi rank.

“Three AK-47 rifles and two other firearms were seized.

“Five vehicles were also seized.

“Two of the vehicles were hijacked by the suspects as they fled the Macassar scene,” said Mathe.

Video: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency

This comes two weeks after a cash reward was on offer to catch the culprits involved in a cash-in-transit heist in Gugulethu, during which one guard was killed and three wounded.

Community safety standing committee chairperson in the Western Cape Legislature, Reagan Allen said they are deeply concerned about the recent cash-in-transit heist attempt.

“As we are aware that between February 2019 and February 2020, there were 35 cases of cash-in-transit heists that were reported country wide, with the majority occurring in Gauteng over this period,” said Allen.

He said those figures highlighted that the police approach to cash-in-transit heist should be more effective, as crime intelligence should ideally be equipped with the latest technology to deal with the scourge.

He added that the crime intelligence unit should establish networks all over the country that gathers information ahead of any heist attempts as well as the latest modi operandi of the heist gangs – that could target other provinces as well.

Cape Argus