ANC employee arrested after cash-in-transit heist in Soweto

The ANC confirmed on Wednesday that one of its employees was arrested in connection with a cash-in-transit heist in Soweto.

"The ANC is dismayed by the fact that one of its employees was arrested and appeared in court allegedly for involvement in serious crimes‚" party spokesperson Pule Mabe said.

"Crime remains a serious cancer in our young democracy and we must continue to fight it in [all] of its manifestations. We support the efforts by the law enforcement agencies to investigate‚ arrest and charge perpetrators [of] such high priority crimes."

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba said earlier on Wednesday that he was shocked to discover that a person "alleged to work at [ANC headquarters] Luthuli House" was a cash-in-transit suspect. Four suspects were arrested after a heist in Dobsonville‚ Soweto during a raid by Joburg metro police (JMPD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).

"The raid was conducted by a joint operation of the JMPD’s K9 narcotics unit and the SAPS. Four hijacked vehicles were recovered‚ two of which were used in the robbery. I have received confirmation that one of the four suspects arrested is alleged to work at Luthuli House‚ at the time of his arrest‚" said Mashaba.

A crackdown on cash-in-transit robberies‚ driven by Police Minister Bheki Cele‚ has resulted in numerous arrests that have produced suspects from a variety of backgrounds. It was reported earlier how police had smashed a syndicate, arresting 23 people in raids across Pretoria and Johannesburg‚ including a Tshwane metro police officer.

Mabe said the ANC was following its internal disciplinary policy for employees‚ and "will ensure that appropriate action is taken".