Officers from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) along with police have arrested four suspects and recovered two vehicles used in a cash-in-transit heist on Friday morning in Mpumalanga.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the incident occurred in near Tonga.
Sekgotodi said an armoured vehicle belonging to Fidelity was travelling from Malelane towards Tonga when it was ambushed.
“Approximately 15 kilometres from the N4 the armoured vehicle was rammed by a C-class Mercedes Benz. The armoured vehicle lost control and overturned. The armoured vehicle was bombed and approximately R8,000 in coins were stolen. This cash was destined for a business in Tonga. The suspects fled in the direction of Tonga,” Sekgotodi said.
A multidisciplinary team was immediately dispatched and the suspects were traced and arrested.
“The team comprising of the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation, provincial detectives, Malelane detectives, Malelane Provincial Crime Intelligence, Schoemansdal detectives, National Intervention Unit, Nelspruit LCRC, Nelspruit Bomb Disposal and private security companies engaged the suspects.
“The two vehicles which were used during the cash-in-transit robbery were recovered at a safe house in Schoemansdal and four suspects were arrested. Information is being followed and further successes are expected,” Sekgotodi said.
The head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Major-General Nicolas Gerber lauded the team for bringing the suspects to book and sent out a stern warning that they will be arrested.
“The Hawks are not alone in this fight, we are literally squeezing the space where these suspects are operating. We have made a serious impact over the past couple of weeks. We will not rest. This is a collaborative effort and the strategy is bearing excellent results in a short space of time,” Major-General Gerber said.
He has also urged anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the other suspects to come forward.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL