By Kopano Dibakwane
A group of armed men were reportedly unsuccessful in their attempt to stage a cash-in-transit robbery at Mngwenya Road, towards the N4 Road in Kanyamazane outside of Nelspruit on Friday.
It is alleged that a cash van, travelling towards the N4 Road, was bumped by a dark-brown Mercedez Benz from behind and lost control.
According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli, the armed suspects held the security officers at gunpoint before placing some explosive devices on the cash van.
“ It seems as if they(armed suspects) intended to detonate these explosive devices, however their mission was disturbed when they realised that the police were on their way after being alerted about the incident,” said Mdhluli.
He said that the Mercedes Benz used in the incident was torched by the suspects before they fled the scene. He added that members of the South African Police Service, the Hawks and the Explosive Unit attended the scene in order to find clues that can lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
“ There was no money that was reportedly taken by the suspects, how ever no one reported to have been injured during the incident. Currently, no one has been arrested as yet and the Hawks will conduct further investigation,” said Mdhluli.
Mpumalanga Acting Provincial Police Commissioner, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, said a similar incident occured in Kanyamazane a few weeks ago, in which the car that was used by the suspects was torched after an attempted cash-in-transit robbery.
“ We plan to increase our efforts in dealing with the situation because these unwarranted activities have a negative impact on our economy,” said Mkhwanazi.
