ATM users have been warned to exercise caution following a rise in bombings believed to be orchestrated by Joburg syndicates.
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Joburg syndicates made up of Eastern Cape men with military training have moved into Cape Town and are using Semtex and dynamite to blow up ATMs.
Police have now urged people to be vigilant when using ATM machines following the recent spike in ATM bombings in the city.
Another ATM was bombed early on Wednesday at a supermarket in London Way, Eerste River. The robbers managed to evade police and escape with the money boxes from the ATM.
Sources close to police investigations said police are looking for Joburg-based syndicates comprising men from the Eastern Cape, many with military training, who have moved into Cape Town because security has tightened in Gauteng.
They said the gangs used Semtex and dynamite and usually hit ATMs on the outskirts of the city where things were relatively quiet. Semtex is a plastic explosive used in demolition, commercial blasting and in certain military applications.
Johan Burger, of the Institute for Security Studies, said the thieves used industrial explosives to crack open the machines.
“Normally, in Gauteng, they use industrial explosives they buy from crooked miners and I am certain this is the case in other provinces,” Burger said.
“I haven’t heard of cases where military-environment explosives or privately-made explosives have been used,” Burger said.
He added that although we are seeing a drop in cash-in-transit heists, ATM bombings seem to be on the increase.
“In 2006, we saw a huge increase in cash-in-transit heists but this has been decreasing, whereas ATM bombings are fluctuating.”
Burger said that robbers have changed their focus to ATMs because they are less risky than robbing cash-in-transit vans: “ATMs are less risky and if you were to hit a couple in one day you would leave with a substantial amount of money. It is the festive season now and ATMs constantly have a lot of money and criminals are aware of that.”
He said that it is anyone’s guess what the trend will be in the future, but the recent spate of ATM bombings will decrease once the syndicates involved are shut down.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said that the gang involved in the Eerste River bombing escaped in a white Mazda.
“While on their way, [police] noticed a white Mazda with unknown registration number speeding pass them. They gave chase and lost sight of the vehicle.” He added that an undisclosed amount of money was stolen during the heist.
“The white Mazda was later found abandoned in 5th Ave, Malibu Village. The vehicle was reported as stolen at Dieprivier SAPS earlier in November.
“The spate of ATM bombings is worrisome to SAPS, and every endeavour is made to apprehend those responsible. We want to warn ATM users to exercise caution when using these machines, especially during the early hours of the morning.”
He said that residents in the city using ATMs should never challenge “suspicious” people in the vicinity of the machines as they could be armed and dangerous.
According to official police statistics released last month, 261 ATMs around South Africa have been blown up in the last financial year. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 399 ATMs were bombed. Between January and July, on average, an ATM was blown up every week in areas like Goodwood, Parow, Nyanga and Gugulethu.
Police have asked anyone with information on the latest ATM bombing to call Crime Stop on 086 001 0111.
yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za
Cape Argus