Twelve arrested while planning CIT heist in Pretoria

Twelve suspects were arrested in the midst of planning a cash-in-transit heist on Friday 5 October, Rekord East reports.

This after a multi-disciplinary operation pounced on the dozen suspects at a house located in Midrand where they were allegedly planning a heist.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the suspects were found in possession of three firearms, two rifles, a pistol and several rounds of ammunition.

The team also recovered six hijacked vehicles- a bakkie and five sedans.

“This is a major breakthrough, particularly from a perspective, in our efforts to combat cash-in-transit robberies in the country.”

“These criminals should now be wary that we are making significant inroads to prevent and combat their criminal operations,” said Naidoo.

National police commissioner General Khehla Sithole said this wasn’t the first time his teams had acted proactively by pouncing on syndicates before they actually committed a robbery and it wouldn’t be the last if criminality persisted.

“It is clear that the nation is fed up with crime and they are increasingly teaming up with us as law enforcement to bring these perpetrators to book”, said Sithole.

A docket of conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition and possession of suspected stolen motor vehicles is being registered.

The twelve suspects will be appearing in the Midrand Magistrate’s Court on Monday on these charges.

In the meantime, the firearms found in the suspects’ possession will be sent for ballistic testing to establish if they were used to commit other crimes.