Mpumalanga police foiled an apparent planned cash-in-transit heist on Saturday morning.

Police spokesman Colonel Mtsholi Bhembe said in the early hours of Saturday members of the South African Police Service Mpumalanga Tracking Team had received intelligence about a syndicate that was planning to stage a cash-in-transit (CIT) heist within the Witbank area and they swiftly responded.

“At the identified house‚ they discovered two vehicles fitting the description of the ones that had been hijacked in the Gauteng province. These vehicles‚ both Volkswagen Polos‚ one a TSI Silver in colour and the other a black model were apparently going to be utilised as getaway cars after the heist would have been carried out

“Further investigation within the premises led the police to discover a route schedule list that CIT vehicles in the area were utilising. A 35-year-old man believed to be the owner of the house was arrested and will appear at the Witbank Magistrate’s Court soon‚ facing an array of charges‚ among them: car hijacking and possession of stolen motor vehicles. Police investigations continue‚” Bhembe said.

The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Mpumalanga‚ Lieutenant-General Mondli Zuma was elated at these developments and urged the men and women in blue “to soldier on‚ creating a safe and secure environment for the inhabitants of the province”.