{"id":15827,"date":"2026-01-10T20:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15827\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T20:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:07:08","slug":"vehicles-firearm-recovered-as-two-suspects-apprehended-over-soweto-cit-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15827\/","title":{"rendered":"Vehicles, firearm recovered as two suspects apprehended over Soweto CIT heist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\tPreliminary investigations revealed that the vehicles recovered had been reported stolen in previous incidents.\n\t<\/p>\n

A cash-in-transit (CIT) heist on Saturday, 10 January 2026, led to an extensive police operation along Elias Motsoaledi Road in Soweto.<\/p>\n

Two suspects were eventually apprehended by the police.<\/p>\n

The incident unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning when unidentified suspects attacked a CIT vehicle and fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.<\/p>\n

The authorities later established a second crime scene in Meadowlands, where vehicles believed to be linked to the robbery were discovered.<\/p>\n

How Soweto CIT heist unfolded<\/p>\n

Addressing the media at the scene, Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni told journalists that the person responsible for escorting the cash vehicle was taken by surprise when he heard gunfire. <\/p>\n

He explained that the van lost control and rolled over as a result of the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of that, instantly, the robbers then came out and they set the explosive and the cash van exploded. An undisclosed amount of money was taken,\u201d Mthombeni said.<\/p>\n

According to Mthombeni, the police quickly obtained descriptions of the vehicles believed to have been used in the robbery.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Two robbers sentenced to life in jail for series of violent CIT heists<\/a><\/p>\n

After receiving information the police\u2019s Crime Intelligence, law enforcement authorities including the Hawks linked to form a multidisciplinary team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey followed information approximately three to five kilometres from this crime scene in Meadowlands. Then they ultimately got the vehicles which fit the description. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe BMW, which is having a bullet hole and they\u2019re saving the cartridges inside the car and Nissan hardbody double cab.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Soweto\"SowetoDamaged G4S security vehicle following CIT heist along Elias Motsoaledi road in Soweto on 10 January 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda\/ The Citizen<\/p>\n

Stolen vehicles linked to hijackings<\/p>\n

Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicles recovered had been reported stolen in previous incidents.<\/p>\n

The Nissan was reported hijacked in North West in October 2025, while the BMW had been stolen in Randfontein the same year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have since now got two people, of which we are questioning, and we believe those two vehicles, they are the vehicles which were involved in the cash-in-transit along this route,\u201d Mthombeni said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Four alleged criminals shot during foiled Randfontein robbery [VIDEO]<\/a><\/p>\n

The police confirmed that no fatalities resulted from the robbery, although security personnel were injured during the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were three security guards and as the cash van was rolling, they got some injuries of which they were taken to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mthombeni added that the police recovered one pistol, believed to belong to one of the security guards, while the other two firearms remain unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

\u2018We will not retreat\u2019<\/p>\n

The Gauteng police commissioner indicated that the province has intensified efforts to combat CIT robberies, crediting a coordinated strategy for the swift arrests.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose people who are engaged [in CIT heists], it\u2019s like they are really attempting suicide and if they are daring, they are not stopping, they\u2019ll meet their match and we will not retreat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we know that we are primarily responsible for the prevention of crime and one would say, they\u2019ll feel like they were not supposed to be born in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOW READ:\u00a013-year-old girl injured during violent CIT heist in Thokoza<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicles recovered had been reported stolen in previous incidents. A cash-in-transit (CIT) heist…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[10271,5010,131,329,5735],"class_list":{"0":"post-15827","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-cit-heist","9":"tag-robbery","10":"tag-south-africa","11":"tag-south-african-police-service-saps","12":"tag-soweto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}