Brazen city centre cash-in-transit robbery
The incident comes on the eve of Tuesday’s planned June 30 protests, with a heavy police presence already visible across the CBD.
A brazen cash-in-transit robbery unfolded in Pietermaritzburg’s city centre on Monday afternoon, with armed suspects robbing a Fidelity security officer of cash and his firearm before fleeing into a busy taxi rank.
The robbery happened outside the AS Chetty Building, where residents pay municipal accounts such as water, electricity and rates, with month-end usually one of the busiest periods.
The incident comes on the eve of Tuesday’s planned June 30 protests, with a heavy police presence already visible across the CBD.
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An eyewitness said two armed men accosted the officer as he exited the building carrying a red bag containing cash.
“This was not a cash-in-transit heist, it was a cross-pavement robbery. The officer was walking out of the AS Chetty Building carrying a red bag with cash when he was accosted by the gunmen. Things happened so fast and the men ran into the taxi rank and disappeared,” said the witness, who asked not to be named.
“This was brazen given the proximity of the scene to the court and I believe this was opportunistic because the taxi rank was a convenient area for the robbers to make their escape,” the witness said.
“The police, with their R600 million deployment, could not stop a cross-pavement robbery in the middle of town. It is very embarrassing,” the witness added.
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Pietermaritzburg police spokesperson Sergeant Sifiso Gwala confirmed the incident but referred The Witness to provincial police for further comment.
