Manhunt on for ATM bombers
Local SAPS have launched a manhunt for approximately nine suspects who blew up the ATM and safes at two different stores in Tonga Mall.
TONGA – This happened on Thursday at about 02:00. The suspects forced entry to two shops where they blew up the ATM and the safes. CCTV footage shows that nine armed suspects entered at the back.
They first broke into OBC Chicken then split up. Five of them remained at OBC Chicken and four went to Picardi Rebel Liquors. They blasted the safe at Picard Rebel Liquors and took R63 900.
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The others detonated the EasyPay ATM at OBC Chicken and took R37 000. The amount of cash they took from inside OBC Chicken safe could not be unconfirmed due to a system failure caused by the explosion.
Xolisane Mabunda, Tonga Policing Forum member, said after the alarms went off and he rushed to the scene. One of the suspects noticed him and started firing shots at him.
He then called the police, but the phone went unanswered. He decided to call other members of the policing forum. When the police arrived, the suspects fled to the nearby bush towards the Nkomazi River. No arrests have been made and investigations continue.
This is the fourth attack carried out in the area within a space of two weeks. It follows a similar incident at KwaLugedlane Post Office, a filling station at Block C and a supermarket in KaMdladla. At Block C, nine suspects showed up at around 23:40.
Two females petrol attendants were locked in the bathroom, one male was beaten and the receptionist was taken inside the shop where they set up explosives to blow up the EasyPay ATM. They failed in this attempt and took R6 500 from the cash register.
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