Guard’s R1m #CITheist stash

Police dig up a steel trunk in which the money was found hidden. Picture: Supplied

Police dig up a steel trunk in which the money was found hidden. Picture: Supplied

Published May 23, 2018

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Johannesburg - Cash heists were on Tuesday confirmed as being largely inside jobs, after a security guard from a prominent company is believed to have stored his share of the spoils at the homes of two relatives in Ekurhuleni.

In a late night swoop on Monday, police found over R1 million deeply buried in the backyard of his family members’ homes.

The Star reliably established from a source close to the investigation that the guard was an employee at Fidelity Cash Solutions (FCS). He was arrested earlier this month in Germiston in connection with cash heist-related charges and is expected to appear in court soon.

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On Monday night, officers raided two houses in the Langaville and Paynesville informal settlements in Ekurhuleni, where piles of notes were found buried in the yards.

Springs police spokesperson Clifford Shongwe confirmed that one of two women arrested in Paynesville was a relative of the suspect.

“One of the women arrested in Paynesville was found to be a relative of the man who worked for a cash-in-transit security firm.

About R1.55 million cash, suspected to be from cash-in-transit heists, was dug up in the yard of a house in Langaville, Ekurhuleni. Picture: Supplied

“I can’t disclose which security company the suspect worked for,” Shongwe said.

But a source said the man, whose name was shared with The Star, was employed by FCS. He was arrested earlier this month for robbing money vans.

Arthur Gibson, managing executive at FCS, would not confirm or deny that the money recovered in Ekurhuleni was the proceeds of a crime committed by one of their employees.

Gibson said the company was aware of the money that was recovered in Ekurhuleni, but they were not sure of the facts as yet as the matter was still being investigated.

“We are working very closely with the police to establish exactly where the money came from,” Gibson told The Star.

“As soon as the facts have been established, we will be in a better position to comment.

“We feel it would be speculative to comment at this stage, as this could prejudice the investigation,” he added.

Money bags from various banks were found when police raided the premises. Picture: Supplied

Pictures circulating on social media show a man, believed to be the cash robber in question, living the high life and posting images of himself buying luxury cars and designer clothes.

One of the pictures shows the man believed to be the suspect standing in front of a new Mercedes-Benz GLC and is captioned: “This is how mi day looks like, with god everything is possible.”

Shongwe said police received “reliable information that there was a lot of money buried at a house in Langaville Extension 8”.

He added that a man and a woman were arrested at the house on Monday night, where piles of money were found in the house and buried in a trunk in the yard.

The couple then directed the police to Paynesville, where the two women were arrested, Shongwe said.

The Star visited Langaville on Tuesday, where neighbours of the couple were shocked that the pair, who are known businesspeople in the township, had been implicated in the harbouring of ill-gotten gains, just days after two bloody heists occurred in Gauteng.

The woman runs a crèche in the yard, which was a hive of activity with children running around the play area.

The suspect runs a taxi business.

Three women, who said they look after the children, could not say what would happen to the crèche after the principal’s arrest.

Three neighbours, who spoke to The Star independently, and asked to remain anonymous, described the couple as “warm people with two very respectful adult daughters”.

“As you can see, they (the couple) have a lovely house, which is better than most of the houses in this street.

“So I was surprised last night (Monday) when the police arrived, raided the premises and found piles of money.

“My neighbours are business owners, and I don’t understand why they would involve themselves in this,” a close neighbour said.

Eighteen brazen cash-in-transit robberies have been reported so far this month across the country.

Experts said they all had the hallmarks of being inside jobs and involved highly trained gunmen who executed the crimes with military-style precision.

@khayakoko88

The Star

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