2 Most-Wanted CIT Heist Suspects Shot and Killed in Ekurhuleni, SA Reacts

• The South African Police Service in Gauteng shot and killed two suspects involved in cash-in-transit heists
• The suspects were linked to a heist robbery in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, early in May 2025, where a security officer was killed
• South Africans applauded the joint operation between members of the police in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

EKURHULENI, GAUTENG — Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) joined forces and hunted down two cash-in-transit heist suspects. A deadly shootout happened in Ekurhuleni on 17 May 2025, and the suspects were fatally wounded.

KZN, GP SAPS join forces

According to journalist Dasen Thathiah, who posted on his @DasenThathiah X account, the KZN police worked with the Gauteng police to track down the two men who were linked to a cash-in-transit heist in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal. A security guard was killed during the heist.

Teams from KZN and the Gauteng Provincial Investigation Unit, Gauteng's Police Emergency Service, head office's counter-intelligence, anti-kidnapping, national crime intelligence counter, and security and security partners from Magma, Fidelity's Special Investigating Unit hunted them down and found their hideout.

A shootout ensued between the suspects and the police, and the suspects were shot and killed. The police also reportedly found an AK-47 and a handgun in their possession.

Read the X tweet here:

SAPS shootouts with CIT heist suspects

• The police in Laudium, Tshwane, shot and killed six suspected CIT heist robbers in February 2025
• The police launched a manhunt for suspects who robbed a cash-in-transit vehicle on 31 March after a video of the incident went viral on social media
• Five suspects were shot and killed in KZN near Chesterville, and the men were allegedly on the run after committing a string of heists
• Five murder suspects were shot and killed in a deadly shootout with the police in KwaZulu-Natal

South Africans discuss partnership

Netizens commenting on Thathiah's tweet applauded the collaborative work between the provinces.

Madume Africa said:

"Just imagine KZN and Gauteng visiting hostels."

Lordly said:

"Hiding in JHB thinking it's a safe haven."

Zikhali Bandile said:

"You can tell that even the suspects were living in a bond house and thought they would never be found."

Gerald Makedenge said:

"How scary it is to think that we live amongst such people. Walk side-by-side in shops, drive next to them at traffic intersections."

N2 cash-in-transit heist leaves 1 dead

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a heist on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal resulted in a shootout with the guards after they arrived on the scene. One person was shot and killed, and 12 were wounded on the scene.

The robbers forced the CIT van to open and blasted the door open. They got into a shootout with the guards, and while they escaped, they started randomly shooting at the vehicles along the routes, killing one person.

Source: Briefly News