Four men, whose ages range between 24 and 30, were arrested following a cash-in-transit heist which took place last Thursday morning at about 10:45.

Supt Moatshe Ngoepe, the spokesperson for the SAPS in the Mopani area, said that three security guards were collecting cash from different outlets around Modjadjikloof when the incident took place.

Supt Ngoepe said that the security guards stopped at the Duivelskloof Primary School to make the final collection for the day. According to the police statement, a group of armed men emerged from the surrounding bushes and opened fire on the guards.

An undisclosed amount of cash, cell phones and other valuables were robbed during the incident. The robbers loaded the stolen goods on a bakkie and drove away. Some of the robbers jumped into a getaway car, an Audi, that was parked a short distance away from the scene.

The statement further indicates that the car was later found abandoned a few kilometres from the scene. Four suspects were arrested over the weekend, following an intensive police investigation. A number of stolen goods, including a BMW car, a 9mm pistol, two magazines, eight rounds of ammunition, cash and a bundle of stolen cheques, were recovered during their arrest. According to the police statement, two of the arrested suspects are security guards attached to the company that was collecting cash from the outlets during the cash-in-transit heist.

They were still to appear in the Tzaneen Magistrates’ court at the time of going to press. In the statement that was issued early this week, the police have praised the community members for the information that led to the arrest of the suspects.