Gauteng police are making inroads into nabbing suspects involved in ATM bombings in Thokoza, Katlehong and surrounding areas in Ekurhuleni.
The region has seen a rapid increase in ATM bombings and heists in just two months. There are now fewer than five ATMs in Thokoza.
On Friday, residents were rudely awakened by explosions and gunshots after thugs bombed four ATMs situated at a petrol station, all at once.
The house situated right next to the petrol station was left partially damaged but intact.
This weekend, Gauteng police arrested four suspects and recovered stained cash and explosives.
Three suspects will appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday while another will appear in absentia. He is still in hospital under police guard after he was shot and injured in the hand during a confrontation with the police.
The team of investigators also recovered firearms and are in the process of linking those firearms to various crimes within the province.
Police said a possibility of these suspects being linked to ATM bombings in other areas and other crimes cannot be ruled out at this stage.
Police said a team of experienced detectives from all law enforcement agencies in the province, security personnel and other stakeholders such as the banks worked tirelessly for the past two weeks in order to achieve the breakthrough.
Some of the suspects have been charged with ATM bombing and possession of explosives and firearms.
Two of the three suspects were arrested on Thursday, while the suspect who was shot and injured escaped. He was later arrested while seeking medical assistance for his injuries together with another suspect over the weekend. A firearm was also recovered. One of the firearms recovered, a shotgun, has since been linked to another crime.
Gauteng provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni has applauded the team for a job well done. He said this team has achieved successes in ATM bombings in other areas of Gauteng as well.
In a separate incident, four suspects from a group from Ekurhuleni that was terrorising communities in Soweto with ATM bombings have also been arrested and will be appearing before the Protea Magistrate’s Court.
Mthombeni is appealing to communities to work hand in hand with the police in combating these crimes. Those with information can contact their local police stations or telephone SAPS Crime Line at 0800 10111 anonymously.
Some community members remain sceptical about the increased number of ATM bombings in townships.
In most parts of Ekurhuleni, residents depend on foreign-owned shops for cash withdrawals also known as cash-back.
“These guys are now targeting our area. We lost more than five areas that had ATMs. We are now forced to go to Daveyton Mall just to get cash. And my mind is playing games with me – if you can deeply look at this, who’s winning directly or indirectly with this is foreign-owned shops. They are now getting speed points and charging communities to withdraw directly from them. We should investigate which account do those funds feed into, if it debits my account who’s the host account? Either we are washing stolen money or money laundering or funding wars up north in Africa. I don’t know, but something here doesn’t add up. Where do they come from?” said Anthony Mlangeni, a resident of Daveyton.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) was not available for comment.
The Star