Gauteng’s cash-in-transit crooks have been ‘pushed’ to KZN‚ warns Fidelity boss

Cash transit company Fidelity has warned that the latest bombing of an armoured vehicle near Greytown on Wednesday - the first recorded use of explosives in a heist in KZN in recent history - could be an indicator that violent highwaymen were being displaced from the central provinces.

There has been a surge in cash-in-transit bombings in Gauteng in recent months‚ forcing the police to implement a national strategy to combat the wave.

This has seen the arrest of as many as 50 people in recent weeks‚ including a Tshwane Metro Police officer and her lover.

Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann said they were working closely with authorities to investigate Wednesday’s attack‚ which left three of their guards injured.

“We are working very closely with the Pietermaritzburg serious and violent crimes unit to follow up on all leads‚” he said.

Bartmann said there had been an unacceptably high increase in the number of cash-in-transit incidents across the industry during July following an apparent lull in June. Last week alone‚ there were four “cross-pavement” incidents and three vehicle attacks - one in the Eastern Cape and two in Bloemfontein.

“With the current attack in KwaZulu-Natal‚ this trend is particularly concerning as the crime could simply be dispersing from Gauteng into other areas‚” he said.