From the horror of the 2006 Villa Nora heist - in which four security guards were burnt alive in their armoured vehicle after a ferocious fight-back against highly trained mercenaries - to the 2014 robbery of a cash centre in Witbank, where a gang made off with almost R104million after impersonating police officers, Heist! provides unprecedented insight into an endemic crime wave that increased by 49% in the first eight months of last year alone a phenomenon that some analysts warn could bring South Africa to its knees, writes Anneliese Burgess.
It was 11.15 am. They moved with purpose, heading straight for the central escalator leading to the banking hall, where they opened fire on two SBV guards with AK-47s and 9mm pistols.
The guards returned fire, and for 10 minutes the mall was a war zone. When the shooting stopped, the majority of the gang had escaped with cash boxes containing about R4million.
The shopping centre looked like a slaughterhouse. Three customers and two SBV guards were wounded. Two robbers had been shot - one was lying in the parking lot, the other at the foot of the escalator.
One detail, in an otherwise typical violent crime scene, suggests the attackers entered the mall that morning believing they had divine protection.
