Another body has been found at the scene of a shootout between police and suspected CIT robbers in Limpopo, bringing the death toll to 19.
- The death toll in a shootout between police and suspected CIT robbers in Limpopo has risen to 19.
- Police say they have found another body at the scene over the weekend.
- Five people, linked to the suspected robbers, have been arrested and were expected in court on Monday.
The death toll in a shootout between police and suspected cash-in-transit robbers in Limpopo has risen to 19.
This is after police found another body at the scene.
Two of the people killed in the shootout are women.
Police initially said that 18 people suspected of planning to carry out a cash-in-transit heist had been killed during a shootout in Makhado, Limpopo, on Friday.
Hawks spokesperson Matimba Maluleke said that as officers were busy processing the scene on Saturday, “another body was found in the house”.
He added that the “processes of identifying” the bodies was expected to start on Monday.
News24 previously reported that officers had responded to information on a planned cash-in-transit heist.
“In response to the spate of cash-in-transit robberies in Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, an intelligence-driven project was initiated in January this year,” said Maluleke.
He added the suspected robbers were believed to be planning to carry out a heist in the Makhado area on Friday.
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“The suspects were about to leave the house to execute their mission when they realised that they were being monitored, and they started shooting at the team,” he said.
A Hawks officer was injured during the 90-minute shootout and rushed to hospital for treatment.
“The team found 11 firearms with lots of ammunition and multiple magazines as well as primed explosives, plus detonators, boosters, lead cords and raw explosives,” Maluleke said.
Five vehicles were impounded on the scene. Three of them were found to have been stolen in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
While police were engaged in Makhado, another group of officers arrested five people at a house in Thohoyandou. It is understood they are linked to the suspected robbers in Makhado.
“One suspected stolen vehicle (Volvo) and another vehicle with an ambulance branding were found at the second address in Thohoyandou, and they were also seized,” Maluleke said.
“It is believed that an ambulance-looking vehicle was going to be used to transport money after the heist from Limpopo to Gauteng.”
The five people are expected to appear in the Vuwani Magistrate’s Court on Monday.