Five suspects have been arrested following the cash-in-transit heist on Atlas Road in Boksburg on Thursday morning.
Two security guards were injured as a result of the incident.
“It is alleged that more than 10 suspects, who were driving in at least four vehicles, approached two armoured vehicles and started shooting. This resulted in a shootout between the security guards and the suspects,” said Capt Mavela Masondo, Gauteng police provincial spokesperson.
“The vans were blown up by the suspects and they made off with money from the vehicles. We immediately reacted when we got the information and managed to chase the suspects to George Goch Hostel in Jeppestown, which was where we arrested the five, recovered a rifle and vehicle we suspect was used in the robbery.”
Masondo also said the entire hostel was searched after the arrest of the suspects.
“Two of the guards were injured. One suffered minor injuries while one was shot in the leg and transported to hospital for medical treatment. The other two were not harmed.
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“The number of cash-in-transit heists these days is a concern for us but today’s arrest is a breakthrough for us and we believe that the number of heists will come down.”
EXPRESS spoke to Leon van der Merwe who witnessed the heist.
“I was driving down Atlas Road when I saw a silver BMW with two men inside shooting at the G4S vehicles. Once they were stationary, they put explosives against the trucks and they exploded,” said Van der Merwe.
“After the explosions, they grabbed the money and sped off towards the freeway. One G4S guy ran in the opposite direction but I don’t know what happened to him. I was about 600m behind the scene when it happened.”
Although the suspects took money from the vehicles, lots of bank notes were left on the scene and was seen being blown away by the wind. The police’s forensic team quickly acted and picked up the money and put it in bags.
