ATM bombing reported in Elspark
Posted 8th July 2008 at 02:00 PM by NewsTracker
By Bathandwa Mbola
Johannesburg – Organised criminals bombed an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Elspark on the East Rand in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
This brings the total number of ATM bombings to over 41 in the country since April, and 160 since the beginning of the year, with Gauteng being the hardest hit.
Elsburg police spokesperson Sasa Lengene, told BuaNews a gang of 15 men targeted an Absa machine at the King Fisher Shopping Centre, where they held up three security guards who were on duty.
They took the guards’ two service pistols and cell phones.
“The 15 men, armed with automatic rifles, held up and disarmed a security guard before lacing an Absa ATM with explosives. The robbers fled with two money boxes,” Ms Lengele told BuaNews.
She said it was unclear at this stage how much money was stolen, but no one was injured in the incident.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter and members of the community have been urged to assist them in their investigation.
Government has raised concern over the increase in ATM bombings, which fall under the organised crime category.
The latest crime statistics released last week showed that ATM bombings were fast becoming the new trend in organised crime.
The stats show that during 2005, only 12 such incidents were recorded, which escalated to 54 incidents during 2006 and 386 incidents during 2007.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) confirmed that there has been a massive increase in these attacks and noted that the cost of replacing the machines could be anything from R9 million to R35 million.
Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula said while organised crime made up a small percentage of the total criminal activity in the country, it was still a concern as it affected other areas of society.
"Organised crime continues to be a big problem because of the damage it inflicts on society. Firearms are used in many organised crime cases and people are killed, including innocent bystanders.
"Organised criminal gangs are also involved in the illicit drug trade which is affecting many of our people, especially the youth. The organised gangs also use their ill-begotten financial resources to corrupt people," said Mr Nqakula.
Police identified and investigated 145 organised crime groups during the period from 2007 to 2008.
Of the total arrests of 1 274 062 made by the police during the period under review, 170 097 were for social related contact crimes and 24 592 for violent organised crime.
While the latest crime statistics indicate a continued steady decline in crime levels in South Africa, government noted that the levels of crime are still unacceptably high. – BuaNews
Johannesburg – Organised criminals bombed an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Elspark on the East Rand in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
This brings the total number of ATM bombings to over 41 in the country since April, and 160 since the beginning of the year, with Gauteng being the hardest hit.
Elsburg police spokesperson Sasa Lengene, told BuaNews a gang of 15 men targeted an Absa machine at the King Fisher Shopping Centre, where they held up three security guards who were on duty.
They took the guards’ two service pistols and cell phones.
“The 15 men, armed with automatic rifles, held up and disarmed a security guard before lacing an Absa ATM with explosives. The robbers fled with two money boxes,” Ms Lengele told BuaNews.
She said it was unclear at this stage how much money was stolen, but no one was injured in the incident.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter and members of the community have been urged to assist them in their investigation.
Government has raised concern over the increase in ATM bombings, which fall under the organised crime category.
The latest crime statistics released last week showed that ATM bombings were fast becoming the new trend in organised crime.
The stats show that during 2005, only 12 such incidents were recorded, which escalated to 54 incidents during 2006 and 386 incidents during 2007.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) confirmed that there has been a massive increase in these attacks and noted that the cost of replacing the machines could be anything from R9 million to R35 million.
Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula said while organised crime made up a small percentage of the total criminal activity in the country, it was still a concern as it affected other areas of society.
"Organised crime continues to be a big problem because of the damage it inflicts on society. Firearms are used in many organised crime cases and people are killed, including innocent bystanders.
"Organised criminal gangs are also involved in the illicit drug trade which is affecting many of our people, especially the youth. The organised gangs also use their ill-begotten financial resources to corrupt people," said Mr Nqakula.
Police identified and investigated 145 organised crime groups during the period from 2007 to 2008.
Of the total arrests of 1 274 062 made by the police during the period under review, 170 097 were for social related contact crimes and 24 592 for violent organised crime.
While the latest crime statistics indicate a continued steady decline in crime levels in South Africa, government noted that the levels of crime are still unacceptably high. – BuaNews
Total Comments 0
Comments
Total Trackbacks 0
