Post office robbery sparks more questions than answers

Two armed men waited silently and patiently inside the post office for their ‘loot’ on Saturday morning. When employees arrived at work and entered the Vryheid Post Office, the armed men were said to already be waiting inside. According to sources, the men immediately approached the employees and demanded the safe be opened. The employees were then forced to put cash into a bag at gunpoint. The suspects are said to have taken over R500 000 and to have fled the scene on foot. It is said that no witnesses or a getaway car could be found at the time of the robbery.

Despite the presence of CCTV cameras in the area, it is reported that the alleged robbers could also not be identified. Even though there were also laptops and cell phones available in the post office, the suspects were only interested in the money. The only indication of possible entry into the building was a broken window. However, sources said that evidence indicated this window was broken from the inside, since most pieces of glass were lying on the outside. There were also no footprints inside, which is usual when entry is gained through a broken window. The gap in the window is also described as ‘very small’, possibly too small for an adult to get through.

The police station is only a few metres from the post office, which is believed to reflect arrogance on the robbers’ part; they committed the crime knowing the police are close by. This is the second robbery in the space of about a year, where a large amount of cash was stolen from the Vryheid Post Office. During the previous robbery, the suspects also waited until just after employees had opened the doors.

The Vryheid Herald was unable get hold of the manager of the post office for comment by the time of going to print.

Vryheid’s post office is not the only one ‘under attack’ – reports of robberies at post offices in different provinces made headlines over the past couple of months. These robberies usually occur during the time of grant money pay-outs. In January, two post office branches in the Western Cape were targeted by armed robbers within a 24-hour period – the robbers fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

In February, three armed suspects wearing police masks robbed a post office at gunpoint in the Free State. The suspects were seen speeding off in a vehicle with Botswana registration plates. Last week, another post office was robbed in Khayelitsha. The robbers pretended to be social relief grant recipients until they ‘got the drop’ on employees – they robbed the post office at gunpoint and then fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.

ALSO READ: Armed robbery in Stilwater area

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.

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