A swift joint response by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and private security officers left three cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery suspects dead following a high-stakes gun battle in Umlazi on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident began along South Coast Road, where an unknown number of armed criminals ambushed a cash delivery truck.

The suspects brought the vehicle to a standstill, held the security guards at gunpoint, and disarmed them before making off with an undisclosed amount of money.

Law enforcement and private security personnel responded immediately, cornering the suspects shortly after the robbery.

A fierce shootout ensued between the fleeing criminals and the operational teams. While initial reports from the scene suggested four casualties, provincial authorities later confirmed that three suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds during the exchange.

Following the shootout, police recovered three rifles and ammunition in the possession of the deceased suspects.

However, the drama did not end there. A few kilometres away from the primary crime scene, remaining members of the gang who managed to evade initial arrest abandoned their bloodstained getaway vehicle.

In a desperate bid to escape tracking, they hijacked another motorist.

A subsequent search of the abandoned getaway vehicle by the police yielded an additional firearm and a portion of the stolen money.

No police officers were wounded in the crossfire. Two security guards, however, sustained injuries during the confrontation and are currently receiving medical attention.

A massive manhunt remains underway across the KwaZulu-Natal region to track down the remaining suspects who fled the scene.

Visit MDNtv YouTube Channel for our video content