Two men wanted for a cash-in-transit robbery were shot and killed in a police shoot-out in Edendale early on Tuesday morning, 24 February.
The men are believed to be part of a group that robbed a cash-in-transit vehicle in Verulam on Monday, 23 February. Police say the suspects were tracked down to the Nhlazatshe area in Shayamoya.
The robbery happened on Monday afternoon when at least 12 suspects targeted a cash-in-transit vehicle at the corner of Jabu Ngcobo and Fairview roads in Verulam.
They reportedly stopped the truck, grabbed three guns from the security guards and ran off with an unknown amount of cash.Verulam resident Lungy Khanyile said that she was on her way to work when she heard about the robbery.
She works night shifts at a hospital near Verulam.”I was driving towards the area where the robbery happened, but I had to take another route because the cops were still busy on that road” she said.
She added that she was glad she left home a little later because if she had left earlier, she might have been on the same road when the robbery took place.
Another resident said it looked like the robbers had been following the cash truck and chose to act once it reached the area.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that police received information just after midnight that some of the men involved in the Verulam robbery were hiding in Edendale.
“The information was acted on and when police reached the house where the suspects were hiding, a shoot-out broke out. Two suspects were shot and killed, and one suspect narrowly escaped,” Netshiunda said.
Police recovered three guns — two rifles and a handgun — along with several bullets.”A VW Polo, allegedly used in the cash-in-transit robbery, was also found at the scene.
A bakkie with multiple number plates was recovered from a garage,” he added.Netshiunda said no police officers were injured during the shoot-out.
The search for the other suspects is still ongoing.
Sub-Editor: Sekgala Mokgadi
