Swift response to foil Cape #CITHeist lauded

A G4S Cash Solutions vehicle came under attack after a cash collection on Jakes Gerwel Drive before the Philippi turn-off when an unknown number of armed suspects opened fire before using explosives to blow it open yesterday morning.

A G4S Cash Solutions vehicle came under attack after a cash collection on Jakes Gerwel Drive before the Philippi turn-off when an unknown number of armed suspects opened fire before using explosives to blow it open yesterday morning.

Published Jun 19, 2018

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Cape Town - Acting National Police Commissioner Sindile Mfazi has hailed the national intervention unit (NIU) for their “swift response” to yet another daring cash-in-transit heist, on Jakes Gerwel Drive before the Philippi turn-off.

A G4S Cash Solutions vehicle came under attack after a cash collection when an unknown number of armed suspects opened fire before using explosives to blow it open on Monday morning.

A shoot-out ensued between the robbers and the NIU, which prevented the robbers from taking bags of money.

The suspects fled with an undisclosed amount of cash in four vehicles and left behind a suspected stolen grey BMW. The incident is being investigated by the Hawks, according to the police’s Twitter account.

Managing director of Cash Solutions at G4S Keith Alberts said they were thankful no injuries were sustained by their G4S personnel.

“A large number of armed robbers opened fire on the vehicle bringing it to a standstill. They used commercial explosives to gain access to the vehicle and at this stage, the cash loss is unknown. We commend SAPS for their rapid response and quick arrival on the scene,” Alberts said.

Mfazi said they would continue to hunt down the perpetrators. “The police’s NIU responded swiftly to the crime scene resulting in a shoot-out between the robbers and the police. No injuries have been reported. They reportedly fled the scene with only cash that was scattered.

“We have declared that the high-density stabilisation operations launched earlier this month will use medium- to high-risk operatives, hence the quick response by the NIU,” said Mfazi.

Federation of Unions of South African (Fedusa) spokesperson Frank Nxumalo said they were shocked by the brutality of the incidents.

“It justifies the call we made last week during the national protest marches for the government to urgently intervene by regulating the training of CIT crews, the structural design of these cash trucks, and the licensing of the carrying of higher-calibre weapons by security officers, to match or outmatch those carried by criminals, and to beef up their crime intelligence capabilities to pre-empt these incidents,” Nxumalo said.

About 200 cash-in-transit security guards took their grievances to the provincial legislature last week, calling on the government to help them combat the spate of heists. They also wanted cash-in-transit workers to be given more powerful weapons to defend themselves.

The marches, in major cities across the country, were supported by the Fedusa. A memorandum was handed to Premier Helen Zille.

Some of their grievances were addressed to the South African Reserve Bank, the Department of Transport, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Community Safety.

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre revealed the number of cash-in-transit heists for the first six months of 2018 had seen a marked increase compared to 2017, with 159 robberies reported in the first two quarters of this year. 

Of the 71 attacks in transit, 49 resulted in the write-off of specialised vehicles that cost between R1.1million and R1.4m each.

Cape Times

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