Mathias Haufiku
17 May 2011
Windhoek — There was high drama in Khomasdal yesterday when four armed men allegedly overpowered security guards working for a cash-in-transit firm whom they held at gunpoint and ordered then to hand over cash.
The targeted boxes of money – in reinforced blue and black plastic cash containers – were earmarked for banking from a Pick n Pay outlet.
After overpowering and shooting one of the guards in the chest, the four robbers grabbed the boxes of cash and tried to escape in a getaway vehicle that was waiting for them outside Pick n Pay.
At police response team arrived and a shootout ensued.
Three of the suspects fled in the getaway vehicle, a white sedan with registration number N13114W, leaving a fourth member of the gang, who was injured by the alert police response team at the scene of the robbery.
During the shootout the getaway car was brought to a standstill after it was hit with 13 rounds fired at by the police who targeted its tyres and other body parts.
None of the law enforcement officers was injured during the operation
Two security guards and two armed robbers were critically injured after sustaining bullet wounds during the cash heist and were taken to hospital.
The fleeing suspects were arrested in Otjomuise after a high speed chase with the police.
Three of the suspects were injured during the shootout with the police along Moses Garoeb Street towards Otjomuise. None of them was killed during the shootout.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of the Namibian Police, Silvanus Nghishidimbwa, the suspects got their hands on an undisclosed but substantial amount of money but police recovered all of it.
“At this stage we cannot disclose the amount of money that was robbed, but we can confirm that everything has been recovered and all suspects were arrested. The injured ones were taken to hospital for medical treatment,” said Nghishidimbwa.
According to one of the police officers at the scene, one of the suspects is a repeat offender who was recently released from police custody.
When New Era arrived at the scene in Otjomuise where the getaway vehicle was brought to a halt, one of the cases containing the money and a pistol could be seen on the passenger seat of the getaway vehicle.
And surprisingly the licence plate number did not correspond with the one displayed on the licence disk.
The licence disk displayed registration number N113-836W while the registration number on the rear of the vehicle was N13114W.
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Robbery Foiled, Four Suspects Arrested