Narrow escape for driver of cash-in-transit vehicle

A CASH-IN-TRANSIT driver had a narrow escape when he was wounded in a hail of bullets during a foiled robbery in Mpumalanga.

He was shot twice in the incident where 71 AK-47 cartridges were recovered from the scene this week.

Group chief executive Wahl Bartmann said on Wednesday, at 5.45pm, a Fidelity cash van and its support vehicle, on their way to White River, came under attack from about 15 suspects in four vehicles just outside of Kabokweni.

The tactical support unit was travelling about 80m behind the cash van.

Bartmann said the support vehicle was initially attacked by five heavily armed suspects in a Ford Ranger.

The suspects approached the vehicle from behind and opened fire on it.

“Our crews returned fire from their gun ports inside the vehicle. While this was happening our cash van came under heavy fire from an additional group of approximately three suspects waiting on the side of the road in a Ford Fiesta.

“They also started shooting at our support vehicle,” Bartmann said.

Fidelity staff in the support vehicle managed to stop about 20m further up a hill and blockaded the road so the cash van could continue. They continued returning fire at both vehicles of the suspects, wounding one suspect.

The suspects in the Ford Ranger fled, and the suspects in the Ford Fiesta hijacked a VW Polo and sped off in it.

Fortunately, the driver had a tracking device in the car and managed to activate it.

While Fidelity staff were fending off the attackers, the cash van was again attacked, this time by approximately four suspects in a Ford Ranger double-cab bakkie and about three suspects in a VW Golf.

Bartmann said the two groups were “definitely working together”. The suspects in the Ford Ranger double cab rammed the cash van from behind, trying to disable the Fidelity vehicle, and at the same time the van came under heavy fire from the suspects in the Golf.

“Our officers in our cash van managed to return fire and defend the assets. Our driver sustained two gunshot wounds in the process but fortunately they were just surface wounds and he is stable.”

Bartmann said all the suspects scrambled into the Golf, and sped off. No money was taken.

“It is concerning to see the extreme pressure these suspects are placing our officers under. Our support vehicle took about 50 AK-47 rounds and our cash van another 30 or so rounds.

“We are so proud of the way our officers managed the highly stressful and dangerous situation.”

“Our support vehicle took about 50 AK-47 rounds Whal Bartmann Chief executive at Fidelity Services Group