Like something out of a Hollywood movie

I recently had the opportunity to talk on a very big radio station about an article I had written – James Kemp from Pretoria FM interviewed me about the Easter 1977 Standard Bank robbery in Krugersdorp’s CBD.

When the article was published on the News’ Facebook page, my team and I had no idea it was going to explode into a national phenomenon. However, the story did extremely well and was shared over 900 times. Comments were made by readers from all four corners of the globe. Many remember it clearly and said they could not believe something so daring and so intricate could have happened in the then sleepy town of Krugersdorp. It was scandalous and just like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Thinking back about all the research I did for the article made me realise how drastically times have changed. The crooks got away with R413 000 in cash and cashier cheques, as well as the contents of many safety deposit boxes. Today, the value of the loot would be over R14 million.

I can’t help but wonder where these crooks are today. Are they still alive? Are they sitting in their lounges laughing at all the attention they are receiving right now?

Perhaps they ran out of money and are thinking of coming clean … Who knows, some of them might even make death-bed confessions to clear their consciences before going into the light.

Make sure you visit our Facebook page to view all the fascinating comments and to read the follow-up article I have written.

And maybe one day we will see it all unfold on the big screen with Ryan Gosling in the lead.

Until next week, keep it interesting, Krugersdorp.