Raining Cash, Burning Wheels: Chaos Erupts on Golden Highway in Broad Daylight
Golden Highway cash-in-transit heist shocks Sebokeng locals as armored vehicle burns and community scrambles for scattered cash. Chaos, crime, and questions remain.
It started like any other Monday on the Golden Highway, but by mid-morning, the air was thick with smoke, sirens, and something far more dangerous—desperation.
Today, 21 July 2025, the stretch of road near Sebokeng Convenience Stores was turned into a battleground when a brazen cash-in-transit heist brought traffic to a complete standstill and left South Africans stunned once again. What should’ve been a routine security drop turned into a scene ripped straight out of a Hollywood crime movie—only this time, it was real.
The armored vehicle, believed to be carrying large amounts of cash, came under fire between Zone 20 and Polokong. Eyewitnesses describe the sound of gunfire ringing through the morning air, followed by a powerful explosion that set the security van ablaze. As flames devoured the vehicle, what happened next caught everyone off guard.
It started with just a few people—then dozens more poured in. Community members, some barefoot, others still in their pajamas, swarmed the smouldering wreck. There were people climbing onto the burning truck, shoving handfuls of partially burnt money into plastic bags, under their shirts, and into grocery baskets.
It wasn’t just a heist anymore. It had become survival.
Law enforcement quickly cordoned off the scene, but not before the chaos spread like wildfire. Traffic between Vanderbijlpark and Johannesburg came to a complete halt as drivers abandoned their cars to watch or record the madness unfold. Within minutes, the area was a frenzy of looters, spectators, sirens, and smoke.
One witness, a local shopkeeper, said, “It felt like we were in a war zone. The security guards ran for their lives. The truck was just burning and people... they didn’t care. They wanted that money.”
Others expressed a different emotion—fear.
“We don’t feel safe anymore. These heists are becoming too common. One day it’s our shops. The next it’s our roads. What next?” said a taxi driver who witnessed the entire attack while parked nearby.
Police have since confirmed that the suspects fled the scene in two high-powered vehicles, heading toward Johannesburg. A forensic investigation has begun, and officials say the firearm cartridges recovered at the scene match those used in previous unsolved CIT heists in Gauteng. Authorities are not ruling out connections to organized crime syndicates.
But perhaps the most haunting image of the day was not the fire or the bullets—it was the image of civilians risking their lives to grab burning money, as if it were the only way out of a life that’s slowly forgotten them.
This event marks yet another grim chapter in South Africa’s rising cash-in-transit violence, which has not only become bolder but now drags ordinary citizens into its aftermath.
Just last month, security experts warned of a spike in CIT attacks around major townships and transit routes. Their predictions are no longer warnings—they are headlines. And now, Sebokeng joins the growing list of places scarred by lawlessness.
The South African Police Service has asked for public assistance in identifying the looters captured in widely circulated videos. Anyone found to have taken part in the looting could face charges ranging from theft to obstruction of justice. But on the ground, many residents say they’ll stay quiet. “People are hungry,” one man whispered, “and this country’s forgotten us.”
Social media is buzzing with mixed reactions—some condemning the looting, others expressing sorrow for what it represents: a nation cracking under economic pressure.
As emergency teams clear the remains of the truck and traffic resumes, one can’t help but feel the heat still hanging in the air—heat from the fire, yes, but also from the growing unrest that seems to be tightening its grip on everyday life.
While the rest of the country scrolls past headlines, Sebokeng will remember today. Not for the smoke or the traffic—but for the moment when the line between criminal and desperate became far too thin.
Poll: Do you think looting a burning CIT van is a crime or a cry for help?
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It's a crime, no excuses
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It shows desperation, not greed
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The system is failing us all
(Vote and see what others think)
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Tags:
cash-in-transit heist, Golden Highway, Sebokeng crime, Gauteng heists, South African crime, traffic disruptions, lawlessness, burning CIT vehicle, South African police news, real-time SA blogs
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