R3 million heist at garage
2009-02-19
Lise Beyers
A MANHUNT was launched in Paarl on Monday, after more than R3 million was stolen during a cash-in-transit robbery at Dalvale Garage in Jan van Riebeeck Drive. At approximately 10:00 an armour- ed vehicle pulled into the garage to refill an ATM. While the guards were busy with this process, a white Toyota Corolla with four occupants arrived. The men parked the vehicle close by, simply walked to the back door of the armoured vehicle, opened the door and grabbed a large bag containing the cash before fleeing. First to arrive on the scene were ADT security guards, followed by the police, but the getaway vehicle had disappeared. An eyewitness said that the bag which the men retrieved was so big that it looked as if they were putting a body into the boot. A red-alert was sent out to all police stations throughout the area, and a call was received about a suspicious vehicle on the N1 heading for Cape Town. The vehicle was apprehended, but the occupants released as they were not thought to be the fugitives. Later that morning in Paarl, traffic came to a standstill at the traffic circle in Jan van Riebeeck Drive, when a squad of patrol cars descended on the scene. Police had received a report that a man had hidden something under the bushes, but on nearer investigation it was found to be a false alarm. Investigators are now surveying footage from the garage’s closed circuit cameras with magnifying glasses to help them identify the robbers. But investigators are astounded at the simplicity of the robbery, as well as the fact that the crime was only noticed when the perpetrators fled the scene.
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