Pretoria – Criminals, travelling in an unmarked fake cash-in-transit vehicle and wearing what appeared to be uniforms of cash solutions security company SBV, allegedly tried to collect money at a business in Pretoria.
Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee raised alarm on the vehicle on Twitter on Thursday, sharing pictures of the car and its Gauteng registration number plates.
“Be on the lookout for a white cash vehicle with a cloned SBV number plate DM82HSGP. They tried to collect cash from a client in Pretoria West. The suspects were wearing SBV South Africa uniforms with bulletproof vests,” said Abramjee
“This vehicle has no SBV markings and is not an SBV vehicle.”
Hundreds of Twitter users reacted to the news with many questioning how criminals could be in possession of such a rare vehicle.
Police have yet to comment on the matter.
In October, more than 10 SBV employees accused of colluding with criminals in cash-in-transit heists in the Western Cape were served with notices of disciplinary hearings. All of them, however, pleaded innocent, claiming they were victims and not perpetrators.
Their letters of notice stated that the company wanted to establish facts regarding allegations against them. Their charge sheets accused them of being dishonest, disclosing confidential information and/or disseminating operational information about an SBV Cape Town run to criminals.
Last month, two police officers and two security guards were shot and injured during a cash-in-transit robbery on the N4/N12 split at Witbank.
At the time, Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the police were still hunting for the group of suspects who attacked a Fidelity cash van and injured the police officers and security guards in a shootout.
“According to the police report, a Fidelity cash van, escorted by two bakkies, was from Ermelo and Hendrina, driving on the N4 road. Two Mercedes-Benz C Class vehicles suddenly appeared driving at high speed, where one bumped into the truck causing it to overturn while the other tried to bump into the bakkie but the driver managed to swerve off the road,” Mohlala said.
A shootout ensued between the guards and some of the robbers, while some of the assailants were bombing the cash delivery van.
“Two guards were injured in the process. While the incident was in progress, members from Middelburg Flying Squad, who were patrolling on the N4 noticed the commotion and traffic pile up and rushed to the scene,” Mohlala said.
He said upon arrival, the police officers were ambushed by another group of the robbers in a Mazda. Shots were fired at the police officers and two were injured.
IOL