Occupants of a white Ford Bantam bakkie arrived at a depot in Brackenfell with a brown box, saying they were there to deliver vehicle parts. But when a staff member opened the outer gate, one of the males produced a firearm and forced him to open the inner gate.
A Toyota Quantum with seven to eight males wearing balaclava’s and hand gloves entered the company premises. All of the suspects were armed with handguns. The suspects forced their way into the Armory and from there to the CCTV monitoring room where they attempted to shut down the CCTV cameras. They then forced their way into the main vault, where they managed to open the safe door that leads to the loading bay area.
The suspects moved the Toyota Quantum into the loading bay area and started to load bags full of cash into the vehicle. When there was no more space in the Toyota Quantum; they moved one of the employees private vehicles into the loading area and started loading bags of cash into the boot of the vehicle. More bags were loaded into the white Ford Bantam bakkie.
The suspects then proceeded to rob all eight employees on duty of their cellphones. They also took a gun from one of the employees and assaulted staff. After the incident two of the employees managed to untie themselves and activated the panic alarm.
The white Ford Bantam bakkie that was used during the robbery was recovered close to the crime scene on a open field in Pietro Rd, Brackenfell. Two cash bags were also recovered, one in the bakkie and another on the field not far away from the road. The white Opel Astra Opel Astra that was taken away from one of the employee was recovered in the Bathurst Church, Fox Street, East Ridge, Mitchells Plain. The cash that was taken was destined for ABSA bank, FNB bank and All Pay. The exact amount of cash that was taken is unknown at this stage. However it is estimated to be several Millions.
Enquiries:
Colonel Mcintosh Polela
Tel: 012 400 6579 / 6576
E-mail: dpci.communication@saps.org.za
Source: South African Police Service
