A robbery at a Coin Security depot on the West Rand this week was carried out by a ”sophisticated syndicate”, a labour union said on Wednesday.
The general secretary of the Motor Transport Workers’ Union, Emily Fourie, said while police and the company were reluctant to provide information fearing that it would hamper the investigation, it was revealed that the job was carried out by a ”sophisticated syndicate”.
”We were told that it must have been a professional job, judging from the equipment used. The term ‘sophisticated syndicate’ was used.”
The Sowetan on Wednesday reported that the Coin Security Group’s Robertville depot on the West Rand was robbed of R30-million in a ”daring” heist on Monday morning.
The report said 30 armed men attacked the building, disabling the alarm by removing antennae connecting Coin to its armed-response unit. They then drugged the guards and used a bulldozer to break into the vault, which they emptied.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Milica Bezuidenhout said no arrests had been made but the investigating officers were ”working on leads”.
Bezuidenhout said the robbery was carried out by ”at least five men” but was unwilling to confirm that the amount stolen was R30-million. She said one security guard was injured in the incident and taken to a nearby clinic for treatment.
Fourie said the union has addressed the issue of security at other depots with the company in the past. ”We are concerned about it and have addressed it with the company in writing.”
Coin spokesperson Anke Potgieter confirmed the incident but declined to comment further on it or on whether Coin would be stepping up security at its depots across the country. — Sapa