Two men have been convicted for several cash-in-transit heists in the Eastern Cape, the Hawks said on Friday. 

The duo — Lwando Ntiyantiya, 36, and Nkosekhaya Lloyd, 38 — were convicted by the high court in Makhanda on Wednesday. 

They were found guilty of four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, three counts of attempted murder and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Ntiyantiya and Lloyd were arrested after a heist in March 2022 in Centane. in which a G4S armoured vehicle was targeted. 

“On March 25 2022, a G4S vehicle was picking up money at Shoprite in Centane when the crew was accosted by two armed men and robbed at gunpoint. The crew spotted a parked police vehicle. The [police] members responded to the robbery, and a shoot-out ensued,” the Hawks said in a statement. 

“The police managed to subdue the suspects. Unfortunately, an innocent bystander used as a shield by the suspects was fatally wounded.

“Two firearms were recovered from the suspects and one was linked to a CIT robbery that occurred on September 9 2021 at McDonald’s in Amalinda, Cambridge, and another that occurred in Whittlesea at Sondelani Cash Loans where a security guard was robbed of his firearm.

“The suspects were also linked to a CIT robbery at Big Daddy's in Wilsonia where a G4S vehicle was robbed.

“The investigations revealed the businesses were robbed of more than R700,000 in cash.” 

While only these two were arrested for the Centane robbery, it was believed they were part of a larger group that had carried out some of the other heists. 

The duo were denied bail and have been behind bars since their arrest. 

“After a series of court appearances in East London magistrate’s court, the matter was transferred to Makhanda high court because of the gruesomeness and seriousness of crimes committed,” said the Hawks. 

“The duo made several court appearances between November 16 and December 13 awaiting conviction. They were convicted on Wednesday. The matter was remanded to December 14 for sentencing. Due to unforeseen circumstances on the side of the judiciary, sentencing was further remanded to January 11.” 

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