Three armed men robbed two security guards carrying money from a municipal services office in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, Eastern Cape police said.

Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the incident happened around 5pm outside the water and lights office in Govan Mbeki Avenue.

The robbers waited for the security guards to exit the building with a money bag and a cash-pavement-carrier (CPC) money box.

They then held the guards at gunpoint, took a firearm, the money bag and the money box and ran away

No one was injured during the incident. No shots were fired.

The money box was recovered. It contained a liquid that would mark the cash notes if anyone tried to open it, and had been activated before the robbery occurred.

No one was arrested. A case of armed robbery was being investigated by the organised crime unit, said Janse van Rensburg.

Sapa