Two former employees of a company responsible for manufacturing and installing ATMs have been arrested for housebreaking and robbery.
The employees, who were a technician and an investigator, appeared before Magistrate Reiner Boshoff at the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court where their case was postponed for further investigation. The suspects were denied bail.
The technician was already on bail for a fraud case committed in March last year involving siphoning of money from an ATM machine in Themba/Hammanskraal, Pretoria. It is alleged that he had tampered with the machine using the company’s programming equipment. Police arrested him when he was withdrawing money from the machine.
The housebreaking and robbery case, which happened in May last year, involved breaking into and stealing programming equipment for ATM machines from the company’s premises in Marlboro Gardens. It’s alleged that the investigator smuggled the technician into the premises in the boot of a company car. They then proceeded to Enkangala, Mpumalanga, where they unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw money from an ATM using the equipment. They were arrested from their homes after the company’s vehicle tracking system and company cellphone records placed them at the scene of the crime.
In his ruling, the Magistrate said stopping the two suspects had ended a criminal activity which could have had dire consequences for the banks.
A legal expert said criminals usually committed secondary crimes to maintain their lifestyles and to pay costs for legal fees for previous offences.
