On Monday a group of robbers were on their way to pull off a Cash In Transit (CIT) heist in Rosettenville, Gauteng when SAPS stepped in. What followed was a shootout between the police and robbers – resulting in 8 dead, including a police officer.
Real life cops VS robbers shoot out
It has been reported that the heavily-armed gang were en-route to rob the CIT van when their plans were interrupted by SAPS.
As soon as the robbers became aware of the police’s involvement, they opened fire with heavy firearms, which resulted in a shootout. Eight suspects were shot deat at the scene, two were seriously wounded and five police men were also shot.
According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Grace Langa, police further arrested 10 more suspects. Four of the suspects are from KZN, five from Zimbabwe and one from Botswana.
SAPS recovered the following at the scene:
- More than 100 bullets
- Five stolen vechicles
- AK47s with double magazines and R4s
- Explosives and petrol
Video 2: one of the dead robbers ⚠️ Warning: Graphic. And some of the arrested robbers. https://t.co/KqautkkWxL pic.twitter.com/ibtH9Y15gX
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) February 21, 2022
Main CIT suspect arrested
Upon the remaining suspects’ arrest, SAPS noticed that one of the suspects is believed to be linked to several other CIT heists around South Africa.
Langa said that the Botswana man is dubbed a CIT “mastermind” and has been evading his arrest for months.
“The suspect from Botswana is a mastermind in cash-in-transits in South Africa. He is a wanted criminal for a long time, and finally, they managed to arrest him,” Langa alleged.
Police minister Bheki Cele visited the scene on Monday and confirmed that a “heavily armed” CIT gang that numbered about 25 in total, shot at SAPS. Cele described the group as “heartless people who are prepared to kill”.