JOHANNESBURG - The Directorate for Priority Crime investigation (Hawks) were on Friday, looking for armed men who managed to get away during a cash-in-transit heist in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.
The brazen robbery caught on camera on Thursday, saw five of the armed men being arrested, while others managed to flee the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.
"Two cash armoured vehicles en route from a depot to a bank in Kempton Park were confronted by about four vehicles with a group of heavily armed suspects. A brief shoot-out ensued and the security guards were injured in the resultant skirmish. They security were then disarmed and both the trucks were damaged with explosives. The suspects then fled the scene with undisclosed amount of money," said spokesman Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
READ: WATCH: Five arrested after Boksburg cash-in-transit heist
"Police responded swiftly and gave chase with the help of a [South African Police Service] SAPS helicopter. The suspects continued shooting at the police however they were eventually cornered around the Denver area leading to the arrest of five suspects aged between 26 and 48 at the George Goch Hostel. Several firearms including AK47 rifles and ammunition, vehicles suspected to have been used and some of the stolen money were seized."
Mulamu said contrary to Thursday's media reports, there was no police officer among those arrested.
The five arrested are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.