New cash-in-transit heist ‘beast’ emerges

The author of the book Heist, Anneliese Burgess, says the latest spate of cash-in-transit heists is a new beast using new tactics.

Burgess said videos which circulated on social media showing the cash-in-transit heist in Boksburg‚ Ekurhuleni, showed that the people involved were professionals.

“We used to have the classic old type of cash-in-transit heist,” she said.

“This is where you ram a vehicle off the road and you take the money.

“Now there is a huge development which is the use of explosives.

“Over the last six to seven months‚ the thing that is really worrying is that these guys aren’t doing what they used to. They would go and hit a van somewhere on a back road somewhere.

“But it is now so brazen. It is now a completely new form of crime. They are starting to blow up vans on highways.

“They are blowing up vans in a built-up town‚ then you are dealing with a completely new beast now.”

On Thursday‚ 10 men travelling in four vehicles along Atlas Road in Boksburg pounced on two cash vans.

They exchanged fire with the guards and then used explosives to blow up the vans.

One of the four G4S guards was shot in the leg, while another suffered minor head injuries. But the police responded promptly and gave chase.

The men were ultimately caught at the George Goch hostel in Johannesburg.

“The crime scene was such a mess that roads were blocked in Boksburg causing serious traffic congestion.

“In 2014‚ there were 180 heists. In 2017‚ there were 378. That is a massive increase‚” she said.