Two robbers and two security guards were shot dead during an attempted cash-in-transit heist and subsequent high-speed chase and shoot-out on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast near Port Shepstone on Tuesday morning, police said.
Superintendent Zandra Hechter said a third robber, a police officer and a police dog were also wounded in the attempted heist, which started at a pension pay-out point near the resort town of Hibberdene and ended with a high-speed chase in Port Shepstone where two robbers were arrested.
”A pension pay-out was taking place when occupants from a double-cab [bakkie] jumped out and opened fire,” said Hecter.
Two security guards were shot dead, and the gang members seized a ”substantial” amount of cash. One of the security guards died at the scene and a second succumbed to his wounds at a nearby clinic where attempts were being made to stabilise him.
The gang members then fled in the double-cab bakkie before jumping into a Volkswagen Combi on the N2 toll road. The bakkie was left abandoned on the R620.
Within minutes, police from Margate, Port Shepstone, Umkomaas, South Port and Hibberdene were alerted and a high-speed chase along Umtentweni Road followed. As the robbers approached Umtentweni, they opened fire on an approaching police car belonging to the dog unit.
The car was raked with fire from AK-47 assault rifles and 9mm guns, injuring a police officer and his dog, which was in the back of the car.
The officer, Constable Zane Moodley, was wounded in the shoulder and the dog, Luke, was reported to be in a serious but stable condition at the local veterinarian. It had been shot in the head.
The robbers then abandoned the Combi and fled down an embankment on to the R102, where they tried to hijack a passing motorist in her Mercedes-Benz. However, they could not open the door.
”Police began a foot chase and when the robbers saw them they fled away from the Mercedes and ran on to the Umtentweni beach,” Hechter said. Two robbers were shot and killed near the beach while a third was wounded.
A fourth robber was arrested at a nearby golf course and a fifth man was nabbed at a bushy spot near the beach. The stolen money was found in his possession.
Hecter said it was still not clear how many gang members in total had been involved in the attack. She said police had recovered ”a number of AK-47 rifles and pistols”.
It was not immediately known how much money was stolen by the robbers or recovered by the police.
The three arrested robbers are expected to face charges of armed robbery, attempted murder and murder. — Sapa