Guard wounded in foiled cash-in transit heist

A CASH-IN transit guard was wounded when he and two colleagues foiled an attempted heist by a group of heavily armed robbers in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.

Three SBV employees travelling in an armoured vehicle came under a hail of bullets when an unknown number of suspects surrounded them and opened fire in the lxopo area near Richmond. No cash was taken.

SBV Services group chief executive Mark Barrett said one of their employees was injured during the attack and is receiving medical attention.

“Our thoughts are with our employee and his family, and we wish him a speedy recovery. On behalf of the entire company, we salute our team for their bravery and are extremely proud of the quick and evasive action taken by them in this unsuccessful attack. SBV’s team applied their training skills and followed proper procedures,” Barret said.

“They saved their own lives and the lives of their colleagues and were extremely brave. This was a severe attack and our team demonstrated courage and persistence in averting the criminals involved,” Barrett said.

He added guards were well prepared, well trained, and invested heavily in the latest technology to track and protect their teams. “SBV’s Risk and Compliance team works with the authorities to apprehend the suspects involved in attacks against SBV. We never close a case until it is solved.”

SBV said an investigation was under way and they were cooperating with police. Anyone with information on the attack can contact SBV’s Hotline 083 408 7029 or anonymously contact Crime Stop on 086 0010 111 alternatively SMS Crime Line on 32211.