3 CIT Robbers Shot Dead in N12 Gunfight Near Mondeor — Unlicensed Rifles Seized

Bullet casings littered the N12 highway near Mondeor on Thursday morning after a ferocious exchange of fire left three cash-in-transit robbers dead and law enforcement in control of the scene. Commuters slowed to a crawl past abandoned getaway vehicles, armed officers establishing a wide perimeter across southbound lanes while smoke still drifted from a burning tyre. The ambush collapsed within minutes of being launched, outnumbered criminals meeting a coordinated counter-response that authorities described as swift and decisive.

Investigators confirmed that the gang allegedly intercepted a CIT vehicle travelling along the N12 near the Mondeor off-ramp during peak traffic, deploying multiple firearms in an attempt to force the courier to stop. Officers from the South African Police Service, working alongside a private security reaction unit, engaged the suspects immediately. Allegedly outgunned by the joint response, three attackers sustained fatal wounds at the scene. A fourth individual allegedly fled on foot into adjacent bushveld and remained unaccounted for late Thursday afternoon.

Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Thandeka Mhlongo confirmed that unlicensed high-calibre rifles were recovered from alongside the deceased, adding that no members of the SAPS or security personnel suffered injury during the confrontation. “The reaction was textbook,” Mhlongo told reporters assembled at the outer cordon. A forensic team from the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit arrived to photograph weapons, cartridges, and vehicle positions before anything could be disturbed or removed.

Cash-in-transit attacks along Gauteng highways have spiked sharply during 2024, with the Johannesburg South corridor — stretching from Crown Mines through Soweto toward Alberton — flagging consistently in SAPS quarterly threat assessments. Security companies operating armoured vehicles in this corridor have reportedly increased escort protocols and real-time tracking alerts following a string of brazen hits earlier this year. Industry insiders say criminal syndicates recruit former military personnel specifically for their firearm proficiency.

One motorist who witnessed the shootout, a 34-year-old warehouse supervisor heading toward Turffontein, parked hastily behind a delivery truck and crouched beside his door as volleys rang out across the freeway. He told a nearby journalist his children call him every morning during his commute, and Thursday they heard everything.

Detectives have yet to identify the deceased formally or establish which syndicate coordinated Thursday’s operation. Whether the fugitive suspect reaches safety — or a waiting arrest — remains the question nobody on the N12 can yet answer.