Rustenburg – Shocked residents of Sandfontein village, near Mogwase outside Rustenburg, in the North West at the weekend witnessed a violent cash-in-transit heist along the R510.
Witnesses told the police that on Saturday, (30 November 2024), gunmen in a silver Mercedes Benz fired shots at a bakkie that was escorting an armoured cash van.
The Mercedes Benz vehicle rammed into the armoured van with three security officers inside.
As a result, both the bakkie and the cash van came to a stop.
Relating their ordeal, security officers told the police that they were forced out of their vehicles at gunpoint and robbed of their firearms – three rifles and four handguns.
The armed robbers used explosives to blow open the cash van before they made off with an undisclosed amount of money.
Witnesses said the robbers set alight their Mercedes Benz and the cash van before fleeing in a convoy of other cars.
The getaway cars included a white Volkswagen Polo, a white Toyota Fortuner, a white Toyota Hilux double cab, and a blue Ford Ranger double cab.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said a person in the escort bakkie was injured in the shooting and had to be taken to hospital.
No arrests have been made, however, Brigadier Mokgwabone said a manhunt has since been launched.
The matter was also being probed by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation – better known as the Hawks.
