Chaos broke out at the popular Lemo Mall in Bloemside this morning when robbers fired numerous shots in an attempt to rob a cash-in-transit vehicle on a routine visit to the mall.
According to a reliable source five men in balaclavas approached a GS4 security vehicle while security officers were loading cash. Shots were fired, damaging the glass window of the cash in transit vehicle.
No injuries were reported, but the robbers managed to overpower the security officers and rob them of bags of money.
The men fled the scene in two Volkswagen Polo’s – one grey and the other blue – that was parked at the mall. According to Bloemfontein Courant’s source the suspects got away with an amount of approximately R500 000 in cash.
A retired policeman and crime expert, who spoke to Bloemfontein Courant on condition of anonymity, says from the information he received of the Lemo Mall incident, it is obvious that the wave of cash-in-transit heists that had been plaguing other parts of the country, now also reached the Free State.
“If the local police don’t nip the heists in the but quickly, it will grow into a phenomena that would threaten the safety of all citizens in the province.”
Jeretha Oosthuizen and Pieter Delport
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