MPUMALANGA HAWKS ON THE HUNT FOR FOUR SUSPECTS LINKED TO A FOILED CASH IN TRANSIT HEIST

MPUMALANGA – Members of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation Mpumalanga are seeking public assistant with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects linked to the attempted cash-in-transit heist which happened on Thursday 06 May 2021 at about 06:30 on the R40 road between Nelspruit and Barberton. It is alleged that the armored van was traveling from Nelspruit to Elukwatini escorted by the company escort bakkie which was driving in front of the cash van.

The driver of the escort bakkie alleged that he was surprised by the hail of bullets hitting the van from behind and he saw suspects shooting them from Mercedes Benz and the escort security guards returned fire.  During the shootout, the armored van was shot at and the driver and the crew of the escort van were injured and taken for medical treatment.

During the incident, three vehicles were robbed from the crime scene and they were later found abandoned at different places. On the Crime Scene, two hijacked vehicles were found abandoned of which one Mercedes Benz was hijacked in Gauteng. The other vehicle was hijacked at the crime scene and used to ram the escort. No money was taken during the attempt.

It is suspected that during the crossfire some of the suspects might have been injured. The police are asking the assistant of the public and the medical facilities to provide information of any suspicious persons with gunshot wounds by contacting Investigating Officer Lt Col Erhard Stroh on 0823008315.   All information will be treated with confidentiality.