Bungling crooks blast security van to pieces, sending money flying everywhere

Bungling robbers used so much explosive to blow up an armoured van that most of the money inside was blasted sky high – allowing passers-by to help themselves. 

Dozens of locals who witnessed the armed gang in action in Krugersdorp near Johannesburg, South Africa, expected them to quickly make a clean getaway with their ill-gotten gains.

But whoever was responsible for the dynamite used a little too much because the explosion it caused blew the roof and all four sides off of the armoured truck.

The disaster evoked memories of the famous scene in 1969 classic film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine.

He uttered the line, ‘You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!’ when an armoured truck which was set to carry a fortune in gold bullion was blown to smithereens during a rehearsal for his gang’s planned heist.

In the video of the aftermath of the similar botched robbery, the men were targeting a G4S security van which was full of cash collected from local banks.  

Some of the gang members rammed their Mercedes Benz  into the armoured van.

The rest of the gang who were following in a BMW 330, an Audi A4 and a BMW X5 boxed off the armoured van and forced the driver and his guard to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint.

They were laid on the road with guns aimed at their heads as other members of the gang went inside with the explosives and then blew up the van.  

Dozens of locals who witnessed the armed gang in action in Krugersdorp near Johannesburg, South Africa, expected them to quickly make a clean getaway with their ill-gotten gains

But whoever was responsible for the dynamite used a little too much because the explosion it caused blew the roof and all four sides off of the armoured truck

A huge shower of stolen bank notes was then blown more than 100 feet into the air before thousands of the notes came fluttering back down to the ground.

The incredible footage, which was shot on a mobile phone, then showed men, women and even teenagers scooping up handfuls of the stolen loot and stashing it in their pockets.

 Some of the bank notes were still burning even as they were lifted off the ground.  

A South African Police source said: ‘There is an art to blowing up cash-in-transit vans to get in the doors without damaging the money inside and getting away with as much as possible.

The disaster evoked memories of the famous scene in 1969 classic film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine. He uttered the line, ‘You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!’ when an armoured truck which was set to carry a fortune in gold bullion was blown to smithereens

‘Clearly someone in this case got their sums wrong and it was lucky nobody was killed or seriously injured as enough explosive was used to blow your way into an actual bank.

‘I suppose it was just too much to expect people who had been through nine tough weeks of lockdown with many earning absolutely nothing to just ignore all that cash lying there.

‘As you can see on the film the temptation was just too strong and they helped themselves but theft is theft and the wise thing would be to hand the money in to the police’ he said.

In the video of the aftermath of the similar botched robbery, the men were targeting a G4S security van which was full of cash collected from local banks. Some of the gang members rammed their Mercedes Benz into the armoured van

The heist happened early on Wednesday morning. 

South African Police Service spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili added: ‘At least three cars targeted the vehicle and the suspects used explosives to get access to the cash inside.

‘The suspects fled the scene in 3 vehicles with an undisclosed amount of money as well as leaving cash scattered on the road and a Mercedes Benz still burning’ she said.

Videos uploaded on Twitter by anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee show dozens of people stopping to gather up the left behind bank notes lying on the tarmac before the police arrive.

The Mercedes can be seen on fire probably have been set alight by the gang in the film as the locals ignore the flames or fears of the petrol tank exploding to pick up money around it.

Another video shows the street littered with the debris from the explosion which makes the armoured van almost look like it had been targeted by an air strike with a guided missile.

The incredible footage, which was shot on a mobile phone, then showed men, women and even teenagers scooping up handfuls of the stolen loot and stashing it in their pockets

Police can be seen on guard at the end of a road which appears to have been emptied of cash.

Colonel Muridili added: ‘We are condemning the act of looting by the community and anyone found in possession of any of the stolen cash might also find themselves facing criminal charges’.

G4S Security which is a British multinational company refused to reveal how much money was in their armoured van or how much was stolen but it is understood their two employees were unharmed.