FIVE men, among them wanted criminals, were arrested before they could attack a cash van yesterday.

FIVE men, among them wanted criminals, were arrested before they could attack a cash van yesterday.

A few moments after police apprehended the suspected robbers, a cash van arrived at a petrol station. Police said they responded to intelligence information and stopped the men in their tracks near the garage, a street away from Killarney Mall in Johannesburg.

"They had planned to rob a G4S cash van. They knew that the cash van would be arriving at the garage on Riviera Road round about that time," police said.

The men, three South Africans and two Zimbabweans, were travelling in two vehicles.

"Police spotted the cars and they approached and searched them. The group were found in possession of an illegal firearm, an R-4 assault rifle and 24 live rounds of ammunition."

The men are expected to appear in the Johannesburg magistrate's court soon. - Sibongile Mashaba and Bafana Mahlangu