Cops search for suspects behind Pretoria cash-in-transit heist

Police are searching for an unknown number of suspects after a cash-in-transit heist in which two police officers were shot and injured.

The robbery happened along Rooiwalpad Road in the north of Pretoria on Monday morning at around 07:00.

“A case of armed robbery and attempted murder has been opened for investigation,” police spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili said.

The suspects had bombed an armoured vehicle when two officers, who were on their way to work in the Hammanskraal area in an unmarked vehicle, came across them.

In the resulting shootout, the two officers were seriously injured and had to be taken to hospital.

“The suspects used explosives to bomb the armoured vehicle and took an undisclosed amount of money,” she said.

In an earlier report, Pretoria Rekord indicated police said the incident took place in Rooiwal, but eyewitness and local Wayne Alberts said the heist took place along the Rooiwalpad Road stretch of road.

He further said the two vehicles which allegedly forced the cash-in-transit vehicle off the road were a black Mercedes Benz and a BMW.

“They blew up the vehicle with explosives, took the money and ran,” Alberts said.

The two vehicles were later spotted travelling at a high-speed along Hebron Road in Soshanguve.

Those with information were urged to contact the police’s Crime Stop number 08600-10111 or send tip-offs on the MySAPS App.

Police minister Bheki Cele recently said it was clear armed gangs targeting cash vans were becoming more desperate and ruthless as the year comes to a close.

He said they would stop at nothing to carry out their criminal acts “often doing so in public spaces near innocent bystanders”.

Quarter two crime statistics for 2020/21 showed that 24 more cases of cash-in-transit robberies were reportedly recorded compared to the same period in the previous year.