Police say the robbers used FOUR getaway vehicles in the cash-in-transit heist on Thursday.
The seven men driving an old white Mercedes Benz blocked off the cash van when it arrived at The Stables shopping centre on Potsdam Road near Table View shortly after 9am yesterday.
According to a source, the armed men instructed the security guards to get out of the van and when they were outside, the skelms threw an explosive device at the van which detonated and caused the doors to fall off.
Once they gathered all the cash they wanted, the skelms abandoned the Mercedes Benz at the scene and drove off in a black Jeep.
Some onlookers saw a red Volvo speed away from the scene at the same time.
The source says the skelms drove the Jeep all the way to Parklands where they also abandoned this vehicle and jumped in a Toyota Condor before leaving the area.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, confirms the incident and says fortunately nobody was hurt in the explosion.
“The suspects who are yet to be arrested also robbed the security officers of their firearms. The circumstances are being investigated,” he says.
According to the latest crime statistics released by police minister, Fikile Mbalula, cash-in-transit heists increased by 45.8% during 2016.