Robbers detonated explosives to gain access to the money at the back of the G4S van. Photo: Vryheid Herald
A KwaZulu-Natal farmer, who was shot while in pursuit of the armed robbers involved in a cash-in-transit heist on Monday, is in a stable condition in hospital, Vryheid Herald reported.
Martin Dedekind, a farmer in the Piet Retief area, was one of the community crime fighters who came to the aid of the police hunting perpetrators.
Dedekind tried to stop one of the two vehicles being used by the robbers before they could travel over the bridge just before Piet Retief. The gunmen in the second vehicle came up behind Dedekind and opened fire, with one of the bullets hitting Dedekind in the stomach.
Less than two hours before to the shooting, the robbers had attempted to force a G4S cash-in-transit vehicle off the road by colliding with it as it went over speed bumps near Scheepersnek, Vryheid. When the driver refused to stop, the gunmen fired at the vehicle’s tyres, forcing it to a standstill.
One of the G4S guards, Delani Sibiya, was critically injured in the shooting, sustaining a bullet wound to the head. The driver and crew of the van were ordered to exit the vehicle at gunpoint and told to lay on the ground as the robbers detonated explosives to gain access to the money at the back of the van.
Some of the gunmen waved their rifles at passing motorists, directing them away from the crime scene.
Several vehicles are believed to have been used by the robbers during the heist and in their attempts to make a getaway. Police, who were first at the scene, said the robbers had used two BMWs when they forced the cash-in-transit vehicle to a stop.
SAPS communications officer for the Zululand Cluster Captain Nkosie Gwala said: “When they saw police approaching, each of the BMWs moved in a different direction.
One of the BMWs used in the heist. Photo: Vryheid Herald
“One of the vehicles sped off toward Hlobane, while the other was involved in a collision, which led to the car burning out.
“The robbers using this vehicle then hijacked a Ford Focus and continued toward Mondlo.”
They drove past Paulpietersburg towards Piet Retief, where the shoot-out with Dedekind took place. The robbers again abandoned their vehicles – this time in favour of a Toyota Quantum.
At the time of going to print, it was believed the robbers were heading toward Pongola in the Quantum. Police could not confirm this information.
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