An army officer has been arrested for allegedly being part of an armed gang that pulled off a cash-in-transit heist at a petrol station in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape.
The Hawks and members of the Attaqua K9 Unit from Oudtshoorn made the arrest.
The 36-year-old SA National Defence Force captain was arrested on Friday after the Hawks found his military uniform — complete with his name, rank and long service medal — with the recovered loot.
He was attached to the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn and is the fourth suspected gang member to be arrested for the heist. Three others were arrested shortly after the attack, which happened last Monday.
Army officer arrested for cash-in-transit heist
An army officer has been arrested for allegedly being part of an armed gang that pulled off a cash-in-transit heist at a petrol station in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape.
The Hawks and members of the Attaqua K9 Unit from Oudtshoorn made the arrest.
The 36-year-old SA National Defence Force captain was arrested on Friday after the Hawks found his military uniform — complete with his name, rank and long service medal — with the recovered loot.
He was attached to the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn and is the fourth suspected gang member to be arrested for the heist. Three others were arrested shortly after the attack, which happened last Monday.
Security guards from Fidelity Cash Solutions were collecting cash from a petrol station when they came under attack. One of the security guards was accosted by two armed suspects while on his way back to his armoured vehicle. He was disarmed of his service pistol and robbed of a bag full of cash.
The Hawks were informed of the robbery and within minutes they pulled over a Nissan Sentra and arrested the three occupants. The money bag containing the stolen cash was found still sealed in the vehicle along with the security guard’s stolen gun and another firearm with the serial number filed off.
Also in the car was the full military uniform belonging to the soldier. It had a loyal service medal pinned to the jacket, along with the member’s name and rank. None of the three other suspects were members of the SANDF.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said investigators discovered that the vehicle used in the robbery was a white Toyota Tazz that had been fitted with false number plates. It had been driven by the soldier who allegedly fled the scene in the Tazz and later stopped next to a silver blue Nissan Sentra and handed over all the stolen goods.
Hani said the Hawks followed up on information from local detectives in Oudtshoorn and found the Tazz parked in the garage at a house situated near the infantry school. False number plates were discovered in the car.
She said the soldier is set to appear in court on Monday on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
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