South Africa continues to battle organised CIT crime, despite signs that attacks are beginning to decline nationally. According to the Cash-in-Transit Association of South Africa, 180 CIT robberies were recorded nationally in 2025, representing a 13% year-on-year decrease.

The new purpose-engineered CIT vehicle was designed to redefine crew protection, threat deterrence, and operational resilience in an increasingly dangerous criminal environment, the group said.

Fidelity processes approximately R246bn in cash annually, completing around 29,000 pickups daily across more than 31,000 service points. This translates to over 630,000 collections every month across every municipality locally and in Eswatini.

“The newly developed CIT vehicle has been engineered around a monocoque hull, a single welded steel structure integrating the drivetrain and all operational subsystems into one reinforced unit,” said Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann. “This significantly reduces body roll and improves resistance to side-impact ramming attacks.”

Fidelity Cash Solutions had also recorded notable improvements in reducing attacks on its operations. “Successful vehicle attacks declined by 23%, while cross-pavement robberies decreased by 12.5% over the same period. Importantly, not a single attack has been recorded against any of the Group’s newly deployed trucks.”

The launch also marked the beginning of a strategic partnership between Fidelity Services Group and Nché, he added. “The launch coincides with a strategic partnership between Fidelity Services Group and Springbok prop Ox Nché, a figure widely respected not only for his rugby achievements but also for his consistency, discipline, and composure under pressure.”

“The partnership reflects qualities central to Fidelity’s operational philosophy: resilience, reliability, discipline, and performance when it matters most,” says Bartmann.

Another violent CIT robbery incident was reported in the Free State earlier this month. On Saturday, 16 May, a security guard sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during a CIT robbery on the N8 outside Botshabelo and was transported to hospital.

Three security guards travelling in an armoured cash delivery vehicle, accompanied by two guards in an escort vehicle, were travelling along the N8 near the Botshabelo-West T-junction when their armoured vehicle was rammed into a BMW driver, forcing it to stop.

The suspects robbed the security guards of a service pistol and took an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing the scene in a white Ford Ranger, a silver Mercedes-Benz, and a charcoal JAC in the direction of Bloemfontein. Another vehicle involved in the robbery, a Q5 Audi, was suspected of heading towards Ladybrand.

Fidelity said the new vehicle’s floor structure incorporates a shallow V-shaped profile constructed from high-tensile armoured steel to improve crew protection during explosive attacks.

“The vehicles are also equipped with run-flat tyre technology, enabling continued mobility even after sustaining tyre damage during an attack,” said Bartmann. All personnel areas inside the vehicles were lined with self-extinguishing, fire-retardant insulation in response to the increasing use of fire during robberies.

Nationally, Fidelity deploys 35 national support units, 130 tactical support units, 12 tactical intervention units staffed by former military personnel and organised crime specialists, and 14 tactical armed reaction units. “These teams provide route clearing, escorting, and rapid-response capabilities across the country,” said Bartmann.

Fidelity’s helicopter operations provide both deterrence and tactical support, with aircraft dynamically deployed according to assessed risk rather than fixed geographic allocation. The intelligence and investigations division also works proactively to identify and disrupt organised criminal syndicates before incidents occur.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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