The police in Durban are continuing their fight against the unrelenting scourge of cash-in-transit robberies that have according to recent crime statistics and Police Minister Bheki Cele remained “stubbornly high”.
The latest incident which took place in the eThekwini District involved four suspects who were believed to have been involved in a spate of cash-in-transit robberies in the eThekwini District.
According to the police the four men were fatally wounded in a shootout with police earlier today.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said the bust was conducted by a team comprising various police disciplines and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, who followed up on information received after the recent cash-in-transit heists in the area.
Naicker said the intelligence led the law enforcement officers to a house at the corner of Queen Nandi Drive and Sikhindi Road in KwaMashu which was believed to be a safe haven for the suspects.
He explained that when police announced their presence, the suspects started firing gunshots at the police, leaving the officers of the law with no other alternative but to return fire and a shootout ensued.
The suspects, two of whom are from Limpopo province, were found in possession of four firearms, an AK47 assault rifle, an R5 rifle and two pistols as well as numerous rounds of ammunition.
A large quantity of explosives, several vehicle number plates, some of them Limpopo registration plates as well as signal jammers were also found in possession of the suspects.
All four suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds during the shootout, however, the police said a manhunt would continue to hunt down further suspects.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has been summoned for further investigations.
During May, Minister Cele shared his frustration at the “stubborn increase” in cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies, with 64 incidents reported between January and March 2023, 11 more cases than the same period last year.
The latter represented a 20.8% increase according to the fourth quarter crime statistics covering the 2022/2023 financial year.