CIT heists on the increase in the Lowveld

MBOMBELA – There have been five CIT heists in the last two weeks in the Lowveld area.  The Hawks task team are investigating the latest CIT heist which occurred at Vector Logistics offices in Heyneke Street yesterday afternoon.  Hawks spokesman Capt Dineo Sekgotodi said the security vehicle  was followed to the office after it had been collecting money at various customers.

“As the van drove into the parking area, the suspects pointed a firearm at the guard opening the gate for the van and forced their way inside.

The suspects fired shots at the office. One of them entered and pulled out an employee to open the security van.”

She said the men then fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.  The suspects fled the scene in a Mercedes Benz and a white bakkie. Nobody was injured during the incident.

Anyone who has any further information can contact  Brig Obed Ngwenya on 082-565-6417 or Col Christopher Yodana on 071-481-2802.

Watch video here of the heist: VIDEO: CIT robbers hit Fidelity offices in Mbombela

The violence used during CIT heists, and the deaths they cause, is of “huge concern” to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), cash-in-transit companies and banks.

The Lowveld has recently been plagued by a massive increase in CIT heists. They are taking place closer to major towns. The robbers are as brazen as ever.

The flying squad’s Capt Pieter Smit said there was more than one gang operating. “They come from all over the country to do heists and each one has their own modus operandi.”

He said their squad did patrol security routes with the CIT companies when requested. “We escort the armoured vehicles, especially doing long distance. I think these syndicates are aware of this, so they hit them closer to the towns and cities.”

J&M Security operations manager Shaun Terblanche agreed that more than one crime syndicate was operating in the Lowveld.

“They are extremely organised. I personally believe that if they can get hold of SAPS bulletproof vests, they have the radios and that keeps them one step ahead of the police.”

This was the case two weeks ago when an early-morning heist occurred along the University of Mpumalanga road. A gang of approximately 10 men used a Mercedes-Benz with GP registration plates to ram the cash van, forcing it off the road.

A gunfight ensued and one suspect, who was wearing a bullet-resistant vest believed to originally belong to the police, was fatally wounded. A police officer was also wounded.

The latest incident was an attempted heist on the the R538 between Sabie and White River on Saturday.

A gang of armed men tried to bomb a G4S vehicle travelling towards White River.

Sekgotodi said shots were fired at the driver’s side and they stopped the vehicle. A white Toyota single-cab bakkie with about 10 armed men approached and the guards were forced to lie face down on the ground.

They were searched and disarmed of a nine-millimetre Norico pistol and a cellphone. The suspects detonated explosives inside the armoured vehicle but did not succeed in blowing open the safe.

They fled the scene.

On Friday morning a G4S vehicle was heading towards KaMhlushwa in Tonga from the direction of Schoemansdal, when the guards noticed a silver BMW sedan and a gold Volkswagen Amarok bakkie following them at high speed.

The occupants of the BMW drove parallel to the vehicle and forced the driver to halt at gunpoint. The security guards also noticed that there were other vehicles, including a black BMW, which blocked the road with a group of men armed with rifles.

The armoured vehicle was stopped and the guards were forced out and disarmed. The suspects blasted the vehicle before fleeing the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.

On Tuesday last week a Fidelity Security vehicle was also robbed of cash at Zwelisha in Pienaar Trust.

Two security vehicles were en route to pension pay points at Zwelisha and Luphisi when they noticed a white Toyota bakkie tailing them. “They reportedly tried to evade the bakkie but one of the security vehicles was cornered at Zwelisha, where the suspects in the bakkie were joined by accomplices driving a white BMW,” said Sekgotodi.

They blasted the security van open and fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.

SABRIC CEO, Kalyani Pillay, said large groups of criminals, heavily armed with automatic rifles, drive stolen luxury vehicles and force the cash-in-transit armoured vehicle to a stop. They then use explosives to access the vaults on the vehicle.

“The result is a complete write-off of the vehicle. SABRIC and the cash-in-transit industry continue to work closely with the SAPS. All we can say at this stage is that these issues are receiving priority attention,” Pillay said.

Terblanche said the syndicates use drivers who steal vehicles and disable tracking devices.

“Then you get your explosive experts who gets the products and knows how to use it. They are extremely organised as each member has a job to do.”

He said inside information was leaked. “We polygraph the men and so do many security companies, but they can go to our clients and just ask when we pick up or drop off. There are many ways they can gather information on cash pickups and drop offs.”

Terblanche believes that people with knowledge of planned heists should come forward beforehand.

“I think more should be done in gathering intelligence around these crimes. If we can know beforehand we can prevent them. This means the community has to come forward. If they are too scared of the police, they can approach security companies.”