Five men were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a cash-in-transit robbery outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Monday evening.

The five were arrested near the Nigel off-ramp in Gauteng.

“As part of the 72-hour activation plan‚ various policing units which [are] inclusive of the SAPS tracking teams were mobilised.

“The tracking team thereafter‚ acting on a tip-off from crime intelligence‚ managed to trace and apprehend five suspects near the Nigel off-ramp‚” police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said.

Naidoo said the suspects were driving a Toyota Hilux bakkie with false number plates.

The arrest of the five brings to seven the number of people who have been arrested within hours after they are alleged to have committed the crime.

The cash heist left one woman motorist dead after she was hit by a stray bullet as she passed through the crime scene. Another motorist was injured.

Naidoo said that during the search of the vehicle in Gauteng‚ police discovered a false compartment where an undisclosed amount of money‚ three rifles including two AK-47 rifles‚ magazines and rounds of ammunition were found.

During the heist on Monday evening the suspects‚ who were travelling in a bakkie‚ shot at the security vehicle bringing it to a halt.

They then disarmed the three security guards‚ tied them up and forced open the safe‚ removing an undisclosed amount of money.

National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole commended police for their swift action and said the 72 hour activation plan had again proven effective.

“The mobilisation of maximum expert resources within this short space of time is critical to an effective investigation process‚ especially with regards to information and evidence gathering‚" Sitole said.