Tebogo Msimanga |
The Verulam Regional Court on Tuesday sentenced Sicelo Zindela (49) to 20 years in prison for attempted murder and attempted cash-in-transit heist which happened at Tongaat. On 10 December 2020, security guards were reloading cash in the ATM at one of the supermarket when they were accosted by Zindela and his accomplices. They tried to grab a cash box and a shootout ensued. The accused fled the scene on foot and one of them was fatally wounded.
KwaZulu Natal spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said Zindela was arrested by an off-duty police and he was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. “A case of attempted cash in transit heist was reported at Tongaat police station and the case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation for intensive investigation. His bail was successfully opposed and he was remanded in custody until his sentencing”.
He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for attempted cash-in-transit heist, 10 years imprisonment for murder of his accomplice, 3 years imprisonment for possession of an unlicensed firearm and 5 years imprisonment for attempted murder.
Colonel Mhlongo added that a count of attempted cash in transit heist will run concurrently with count of murder.
