South Africa's cash-in-transit heists: A national emergency?

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Image copyrightSAPS

Image captionCommercial-grade explosives have been used in several robberies

The shaky footage could come from a film: men standing on the grassy verge wielding AK-47s, bombs exploding, and the sound of gunfire.

But this is not the latest action blockbuster. This is a small South African town in the middle of the day, and what the shocked driver is recording from the relative safety of his own vehicle is a scene being repeated across the nation on an almost daily basis: a cash-in-transit heist.

It is an epidemic which has seen millions of rand disappear into the hands of highly organised criminal gangs - a crime spree which some say can be traced back to the police themselves, and that others suggest is being orchestrated by criminals already serving time behind bars.

It is, according to those in the know, seen as high prestige and low risk - at least, for those carrying out the attacks.

What is happening?

Since the start of the year, there have been more than 150 "cash-in-transit" robberies - equating to more than one a day.

There are a number of approaches. It can involve a gang swooping on an armoured vehicle as it drives down the road, shooting out the tyres before using explosives to get the doors open.

Or the security guard can be targeted when they are at their most vulnerable: as they leave the premises carrying the cash, in what is known as a "cross pavement" attack.

The latter is where the real rise has come in, Anneliese Burgess, a journalist who has spent the last few years researching the phenomenon for her book, Heist! South Africa's cash-in-transit epidemic, tells the BBC.

"It is extraordinary: the incredible brazenness of these acts," she explains. "They just attack people, just shoot them in the back of the head."

Image copyrightER24

Image captionEight people were injured in this attack on two vans carrying cash

"These gangs of criminals do not have due respect for the lives of our people here in this country," agrees Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, South African Police Service spokesman. 

"The nature of criminal conduct is scary - they are using explosives. It is groups of people firing high-calibre firearms."

Who are the robbers?

The gangs, according to Yusuf Abramjee, an anti-crime activist, range in size from about 10 to 20 members, and are just as confident in conducting a broad daylight strike in the cities as they are out in the countryside.

And when they strike, they are well prepared: AK47s, other assault rifles and commercial-grade explosives - allowing them to blow the back of a van off, and then walk away with the money.

"What we are dealing with is organised crime," Mr Abramjee says.