A cash-in-transit robber arrested in possession of a stolen rifle shortly after a heist at a fuel station in Gauteng has been sentenced 30 years in prison.
Msizi Mlambo, 41, was sentenced this week in the Vereeniging magistrate’s court.
“In November 2019, an IziCash Solutions armoured vehicle was dispatched to a fuel station in Orange Farm to collect money. Upon arrival, the security crew collected the undisclosed amount of money in a cash deposit box and proceeded to their armoured vehicle for their next destination,” said Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
“As he reached for the door handle, he was accosted by a group of unknown men who ordered him to lie down. The suspects shot him on the lower body and robbed him of his official firearm. The suspects grabbed the cash deposit box and fled in a white Corsa bakkie. The armoured vehicle driver chased the suspects’ getaway Corsa. [The] suspects lost control of their vehicle and left it at the fuel station as they fled on foot in different directions.”
The Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team in Johannesburg and Orange Farm visible policing members searched the abandoned suspects’ vehicle and recovered a cash deposit box containing an undisclosed sum of money.
“A 72-hour activation plan to hunt down the suspects was instituted which led authorities to a house not far from where the incident took place. A positively identified man was confronted by authorities. After a thorough search of the premises, authorities recovered a rifle under the bed and confiscated it,” said Mulamu.
Mlambo was arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. It was established that the rifle was reported stolen in the North West during a housebreaking and theft incident in February 2019. The investigation team discovered that the getaway vehicle was reportedly hijacked the previous day in Vanderbiljpark.
Mlambo was found guilty in April on counts of armed robbery, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for armed robbery, 10 years for attempted murder, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and one year for possession of ammunition, to run concurrently with the possession of an unlicensed firearm count.
Provincial Hawks head Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa welcomed the sentence: “We are pleased with the effort and hard work displayed by the authorities for bringing criminals to book. This serves as a warning to all outstanding suspects on this matter that the authorities will stop at nothing [to make the] perpetrators account for crime committed.”
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Orange Farm cash-in-transit robber gets 30 years behind bars
Image: 123RF/taxiboat
A cash-in-transit robber arrested in possession of a stolen rifle shortly after a heist at a fuel station in Gauteng has been sentenced 30 years in prison.
Msizi Mlambo, 41, was sentenced this week in the Vereeniging magistrate’s court.
“In November 2019, an IziCash Solutions armoured vehicle was dispatched to a fuel station in Orange Farm to collect money. Upon arrival, the security crew collected the undisclosed amount of money in a cash deposit box and proceeded to their armoured vehicle for their next destination,” said Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
“As he reached for the door handle, he was accosted by a group of unknown men who ordered him to lie down. The suspects shot him on the lower body and robbed him of his official firearm. The suspects grabbed the cash deposit box and fled in a white Corsa bakkie. The armoured vehicle driver chased the suspects’ getaway Corsa. [The] suspects lost control of their vehicle and left it at the fuel station as they fled on foot in different directions.”
The Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team in Johannesburg and Orange Farm visible policing members searched the abandoned suspects’ vehicle and recovered a cash deposit box containing an undisclosed sum of money.
“A 72-hour activation plan to hunt down the suspects was instituted which led authorities to a house not far from where the incident took place. A positively identified man was confronted by authorities. After a thorough search of the premises, authorities recovered a rifle under the bed and confiscated it,” said Mulamu.
Mlambo was arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. It was established that the rifle was reported stolen in the North West during a housebreaking and theft incident in February 2019. The investigation team discovered that the getaway vehicle was reportedly hijacked the previous day in Vanderbiljpark.
Mlambo was found guilty in April on counts of armed robbery, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for armed robbery, 10 years for attempted murder, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and one year for possession of ammunition, to run concurrently with the possession of an unlicensed firearm count.
Provincial Hawks head Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa welcomed the sentence: “We are pleased with the effort and hard work displayed by the authorities for bringing criminals to book. This serves as a warning to all outstanding suspects on this matter that the authorities will stop at nothing [to make the] perpetrators account for crime committed.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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