Following a spate of cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies in Durban in KwaZulu Natal over the past few days, four suspects were gunned down in a shootout with police on Friday morning.

The first cash-in-transit robbery took place on Tuesday morning at Folweni in the south of Durban which left one security guard dead and one injured. As if that was not enough, the CIT criminals which are suspected to be the brains behind the robberies hit again in KwaMashu on Wednesday morning. Videos of the suspects blasting the cash van were circulating on social media. On Thursday evening, the said criminals hit again where they bombed another cash van on a freeway near KwaMashu.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker confirmed the incident. "Four suspects who were believed to have been involved in a spate of cash-in-transit robberies in the eThekwini District were fatally wounded in a shootout with police on Friday morning," Naicker said. He said a team comprised of various police disciplines and the Hawks followed up information after the recent heist and that intelligence led the law enforcement officers to a house at the corner of Queen Nandi Drive and Sikhindi Road in KwaMashu which was believed to be a safe haven for the suspects. "When police announced their presence, the suspects started firing gunshots at the police leaving the men of law with no other alternative but to return fire and a shootout ensued. Four suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds during the shootout. The suspects, two of whom are from Limpopo province, were found in possession four firearms, an AK47 assault rifle, an R5 rifle and two pistol as well as numerous rounds of ammunition," he said. Naicker further said that a large quantity of explosives, several vehicle number plates, some of them Limpopo registration plates as well as signal jammers were also found in possession of the suspects. He added that a manhunt continues for more suspects. "The independent Police Investigative Directorate have been summoned for further investigations," he said.