These crime syndicates are in some instances linked to bank employees. When clients withdrew a large sum of money the bank employees tip-off the criminals who wait for the clients as they leave the bank with the cash. They then follow them, attack and rob them.
Kevin Harbour's mistake was to walk into a bank carrying a silver briefcase. Minutes after leaving the Absa branch in Southdale, Joburg, he became a victim of the Bank Queue Gang - and a week later he was dead.
His killers were a criminal outfit who look for soft targets, such as clients leaving the security of the bank precinct carrying cash. In the past 12 months, at least five people have died as a result of such robberies.
One of those victims was a policeman and another was 27-year-old Anton Dippenaar, who was shot in the chest in front of his three-year-old son.
Police call such crimes "client robberies", while the banking sector refers to them as "associated crimes".
By definition, the crime occurs when a client leaves a bank, is followed and robbed. The victims are often tradesmen, who draw large amounts of cash on a Thursday to pay their casual labourers the following day.
That was what happened when Harbour left the Absa bank at Southdale Mall on September 8 last year. Harbour, a plumber, had gone to the bank to cash a R3 000 cheque.
"He had that stupid briefcase with him, that was why he was killed," said Harbour's brother Craig. "They thought he was carrying a lot of money."
Just blocks from the bank, Harbour was forced off the road by a black VW Polo. Two of the occupants, armed with 9mm pistols, opened fire at Harbour through both the passenger- and driver-side windows of his bakkie.
A bullet struck Harbour, piercing his liver.
"He put the car into reverse and got away, then drove to the Robertsham hotel, where he phoned me," said Craig.
Harbour was rushed to the Garden City Clinic, but died days later. The robbers didn't take his silver briefcase or any of the money.
The police are still looking for his killers. Soon after the murder, Craig hired private investigator Christian Botha to help find his brother's killers.
During the course of his investigations, Botha got a glimpse into the workings of the Bank Queue Gang.
The linchpin of the gang is the "spotter". Spotters blend in, wait in bank queues and look for a target. Sometimes, they don't even need to see the money, they hear it.
"They will listen for the noise of the cash machine counting out money," explained Botha.
To make themselves appear legitimate, spotters will deposit small amounts of cash or ask a teller for change. Using a cellphone, the spotter will then quickly pass on information.
They will describe what their target is wearing and sometimes even inform the "shooters" outside in which pocket the money is being held. Outside, the shooters will pick up the target and begin following on foot or by car.
The actual hit is quick and sometimes, as in Harbour's case, the gang is violent.
A bank is chosen, says Botha, in relation to how close they are to a highway for a quick getaway and how much security is around.
A typical gang, says Botha, is made up of about four members. The spoils are good and without the risks associated with robbing banks or cash-in transit vans.
There have even been instances in which customers have been robbed of hundreds of thousands of rands. In a couple of months, a gang can net more than R1 million.
Bank customers are not just followed. Sometimes the robbers strike as they head to the bank to deposit money.
"The challenge here is the fact that this type of crime is traditionally underreported and therefore there is no sufficient data to benchmark against," said Kevin Twiname, head of the Violent Crime Office at the SA Banking Risk Information Centre.
In an effort to stop client robberies, he said, the banking industry was working with and supporting various law enforcement agencies.
"Bank staff also advise clients of alternative banking products, such as electronic transfers, and warn them of the dangers of carrying large sums of money when assisting them with transactions involving large cash withdrawals," he explained.
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