BOTSHABELO – Two men arrested in connection with the brazen recent cash-in-transit heist on the N8 road near Botshabelo, outside Bloemfontein, are remanded in custody while the police continue with the investigations. They are Keketso Muso (35) and Pitso Clement Mpholo (58).
Their matter was postponed for bail applications in the Botshabelo Magistrates’ Court. Muso bail hearing is set for Thursday, 25 September while that of Mpholo will be on Wednesday, 1 October.
Both appeared on Friday, 19 September. They are facing charges including armed robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle, and the possession of illegal firearms and ammunition as stipulated in the Firearms Control Act.
The team that effected the arrest comprised the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation (Soci) team, Crime Intelligence, the Tactical Response Team (TRT), Visible Policing, the Explosives unit, and the Local Criminal Record Center (LCRC). The police’s breakthrough came with the arrest of the first suspect, Muso, a day after the robbery that occurred on 2 September, at about 09:00.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said Mpholo, had been on the run from the police. “He handed himself over to the police at the Boithuso Police Station on 17 September, in the presence of his lawyer.
“The suspect is the owner of a house in Section H, Botshabelo, where two vehicles, several rifles, ammunition and explosives were recovered shortly after the robbery,” said Matoti. She said the weapons discovered were assault rifles, a pistol, and rounds of ammunition. In addition, members confiscated bullet-resistant vests, clothing items, as well as an unknown concoction inside a bottle.
Matoti said intelligence-driven information led the team to the house where significant evidence was discovered. She said one of the getaway vehicles had been reported as stolen in Bloemfontein in May this year. Matoti said the group of heavily armed men travelling in a BMW reportedly rammed into a cash-in-transit vehicle, resulting in it overturning. They managed to take an undisclosed amount of cash and thereafter fled the scene in a grey Toyota Hilux.
