- A manhunt is underway for a group who bombed and robbed a G4S cash van, near the Rustenburg Civic Centre.
- They fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
- Videos circulating on social media show members of the public picking up money at the scene.
North West police have launched a manhunt for a group who bombed and robbed a G4S cash van and fled off with an undisclosed amount of money.
The robbery took place near the Rustenburg Civic Centre on Sunday.
According to police, it is alleged the group used a stolen, maroon Mercedes Benz to ram the truck, forcing it to come to a standstill. The security guards were then forced out of the van before it was blown up.
"Shots were fired between the suspects and the escort vehicle, but no one sustained injuries. Suspects are believed to have fled the scene in various vehicles, including a white Q7," police said in a statement. The police added that cash-in-transit (CIT) heist scenes could often be dangerous, particularly when explosives were used in such robberies.
"It is for this reason that we warn members of the community that, in some instances, it is possible that not all explosives were detonated at the time when the robbery was committed. This, therefore, poses a risk for the detonator to explode in their presence, thereby posing a risk for the loss of life."
Videos circulating on social media show members of the public picking up money in the vicinity of the exploded van.
Police are studying the video and investigating those picking up money at the crime scene.
"When a robbery is committed, the area now becomes a crime scene and those looting at such crime scenes often contaminate the scene, which will constitute a crime of theft as well as defeating the ends of justice," said the police.
Police have urged communities to refrain from entering crime scenes, but rather to support the work of the police by assisting members when a crime is committed.