One more body has been discovered after a shootout between alleged Cash-in-Transit (CIT) robbers and the police in Makhado, Limpopo. Initially, 18 alleged criminals were reported dead on Friday after the shootout. This takes the death toll of the suspected robbers to 19. A police officer who was shot during the incident also had his leg amputated.

POLICE CONFIRMATION

The Hawks spokesperson, Captain Matimba Maluleke, confirmed that five people linked to the robbers were arrested and are due to appear in the Vuwani Magistrates court soon. He said the police were responding to a planned cash-in-transit heist. "In response to the spate of cash-in-transit robberies in Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, an intelligence-driven project was initiated in January this year," said Maluleke, explaining that as officers were busy processing the scene on Saturday, another body was found in the house. "The suspects were about to leave the house to execute their mission when they realised that they were being monitored and they started shooting at the team," he said. He said the team found 11 firearms with lots of ammunition and multiple magazines as well as primed explosives, plus detonators, boosters, lead cords and raw explosives.

STOLEN CARS RECOVERED

Maluleke said five vehicles were impounded on the scene. He said three of them were found to have been stolen in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. "One suspected stolen vehicle (Volvo) and another vehicle with an ambulance branding were found at the second address in Thohoyandou and they were also seized," Maluleke said. It is believed that an ambulance-looking vehicle was going to be used to transport money after the heist from Limpopo to Gauteng." The process of identifying the bodies started this morning.