BUSHBUCKRIDGE – A security guard was shot dead during a cash-in-transit robbery at the First National Bank on Monday.
The victim, a 36-year-old guard from the Coin Security group was with his crew of two other men when they were accosted by a gang of armed men at approximately 09:00.
The guards had apparently just stopped at the bank and got out of their armored vehicle when the gang opened fire on the unsuspecting crew. The victim died on the scene. Nobody else was injured.
“After the gruesome act, the suspects fled the scene in two white cars, a Mercedes Benz sedan and a Nissan Tiida, with an empty bag,” confirmed Col Leonard Hlathi, provincial police spokesperson.
A source at the Coin group confirmed that no money and no firearms were stolen. He added that out of respect for the victim’s family they had not yet released his name to the media. “He was a good man who did fantastic work, we are all missing him at work.”
No one has been arrested so far therefore we request the community with information to contact Warrant Officer Percy Sibanyoni at 082 304 0105.
Cash-in-transit heists are well-planned criminal operations, executed with military-style planning and precision. In this form of robbery, criminals attack cash at its most vulnerable: away from the safekeeping of the bank and under the protection of only two or three armed guards.
Bank robberies and cash-in-transit heists dropped sharply in South Africa in 2012/13, according to the latest national crime statistics.
