A 38-year-old man with a slew of criminal offences to his name was arrested following a cash-in-transit robbery in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, on Friday afternoon, the directorate for priority crime investigation (Hawks) said.
Cash-in-transit guards were in the process of loading cash into an ATM at the Belmont Centre in Van Riebeeck Road, Kraaifontein, just after 1pm, spokesman Captain Lloyd Ramovha said on Saturday.
The guards were “suddenly accosted” by three armed men and robbed of their firearms and four bags containing a yet to be determined amount of cash. The robbers then fled the scene.
“No shots were fired, no injuries sustained; approximately five suspects [were] involved,” he said.
The Hawks cash-in-transit investigation team was summoned on the scene and circumstances surrounding the incident were probed. Investigations led the team to Bigaba Street in Wallacedene, a short distance from the robbery scene, where an Opel bakkie fitting the description of one of the getaway vehicles was found abandoned. The vehicle had been hijacked earlier this month with a Lwandle case number.
“[The] Subsequent chain of events and information led the team to La Boheme Road, where a second vehicle, a VW Caravelle, was found abandoned. Officers from law enforcement from the City [of Cape Town] were in attendance having apprehended one suspect, aged 38, who had unsuccessfully tried to outrun them earlier when they found him next to the said vehicle.
“According to information available at this stage the Khayelitsha-based suspect is currently facing a litany of criminal cases, among them two of murder, attempted murder, as well as cash-in-transit robbery. It is believed he is out on bail,” Ramovha said.
“His accomplices are still at large and we urge members of the public not to confront them as they are considered armed and dangerous, but to merely report their whereabouts to authorities. Investigations continue. All possible leads [are] being followed.”
The arrested man was expected to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a charge of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances, Ramovha said.
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