Judging by the type of weaponry used by cash-in-transit robbers these days, it is clear that they have declared war on South-African citizens.

This was again apparent on Monday during a daring cash-in-transit robbery along the N1 some 40km north of Louis Trichardt. A gang of heavily armed robbers forced a Coin Security vehicle to a halt in the middle of the road and seconds later riddled it with bullets.

"At first I thought it was a police vehicle which had pulled the security van over. Four armed men surrounded the vehicle, with a fifth man who remained on the back of the robber’s bakkie. I saw the men trying to force open the back of the security van. It was then that I realized what was really happening. At first I wanted to stop, but fearing that I would be shot, I just put my foot down on the accelerator and sped past," recalls an eyewitness who, together with a friend, was on his way to Johannesburg for a meeting.

"As I raced past, I heard something that sounded like bombs going of. We were scared out of our wits," he adds.

The booming sound he heard was the gunmen opening fire on the security van with a gun- belt-fed military issue LMG (light machine gun) mounted on the back of the robbers’ bakkie. There was no escape for the two security guards inside the security van. Security personnel guarding the farm gate to a nearby farm just a couple of metres away fled in haste, fearing also being gunned down by the gang of ruthless thugs.

When the shooting stopped, the robbers emptied out the van, fleeing the scene with a large amount of cash and leaving behind a seriously wounded security guard – the vehicle’s bulletproof armour was not able to protect him. His colleague miraculously managed to escape uninjured.

Police were quick to arrive at the scene, despite being tied up in Louis Trichardt in the aftermath of another armed robbery which occurred at Soekmekaar earlier the same morning. They were met with some 40 empty bullet shells and gun-belt clips. Inside the van they found the security guard in agony. A manhunt was launched for the robbers, while the security guard was rushed to hospital for treatment. By Wednesday, local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike confirmed that the police had managed to arrest eight suspects (seven men and one woman) in connection with the robbery. The fate of the wounded security guard could not be confirmed at the time of going to press. In the meantime, rumours surfaced that the LMG used in the attack allegedly went missing from the military base in Thohoyandou a couple of weeks ago.

This, however, could neither be confirmed nor denied by the police, who are still busy with their investigation.

As for the armed robbery at Soekmekaar, a group of armed men robbed a family member and employee of Mr Sheikh Faisal Gaffer, a local businessman, while they were travelling to Louis Trichardt to buy supplies for his store at Tshitale. The robbers managed to make off with a substantial amount of cash. Again, the police were quick to react, informing Louis Trichardt police of the incident, who in turn spotted the robbers’ get-away vehicle in the industrial area of Louis Trichardt at PJ Timbers. The robbers tried to hide in piles of sawdust, but were nonetheless caught. In total, four suspects were apprehended. The money, as well as an unlicensed firearm, was also recovered.