Gang robs Pretoria bank

2008-07-24 16:37

Johannesburg - A gang of eight armed men robbed a Nedbank branch in Hillcrest Boulevard in Pretoria on Thursday, police said.

The group first posed as bank clients, then ordered the two tellers at gunpoint to hand over cash, said Captain Colette Weilbach.

The robbers fled the scene in a blue BMW and a white Volkswagen Jetta with an unknown amount of cash, she said.

The vehicles were spotted on the R21 shortly after the robbery, leading to a high speed car chase with the police.

Two Brooklyn police vehicles were subsequently involved in a collision after which three police officers were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, the driver of the BMW also lost control of his vehicle, on the corner of Elephant and Tiger roads in Monument Park.

Two occupants, aged 35 and 33 from Hillbrow and Yeoville in Johannesburg, got out and ran in different directions. However, police managed to arrest both men.

Two money bags and a firearm were found in their getaway car.

Wielbach said one had been on the police's wanted list for another armed robbery while the other had an outstanding case of bank robbery against him.

Five other robbers who escaped in the VW Jetta were still at large.

- SAPA