Criminals blast open safe and flee with money
Policewoman puts money into plastic bag at crime scene.
About eight robbers got away with an undisclosed amount of money after they blew open the safe and robbed the Sasol filling station in Evander just after 01:00 on May 1.
Owner Kosie van der Merwe said he saw on video footage four men stop at the main entrance to the filling station, and another three appeared from the dark.
“One of the men instructed my pump attendant to get onto his knees while the others went inside the shop.
“They were armed and very organised. One was carrying a crowbar, one a bag, and one the explosives,” said Van der Merwe.
The robbers emptied the till after telling the two staff members to lie on the floor.
They then proceeded to the safe and forced it open with the crowbar, inserted the explosives, moved a safe distance away and bombed it.
In the meantime, a client entered the filling station to pick up his vehicle that was washed. The other criminals appeared outside and forced him and his wife out of his vehicle.
They took the man’s firearm, cellphone and other belongings, forced his wife into the shop and instructed her to also lie on the floor.
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Van der Merwe said after the robbers took all the money, they walked out of the shop as if nothing happened.
One of the videos from the CCTV footage clearly shows how a policewoman put money into a plastic bag. It was not an evidence bag, and she was not wearing gloves.
According to Van der Merwe, when the filling station manager asked the policewoman what she was doing, she left the bag of money at the scene.
Van der Merwe said they reported the incident to her senior at the Evander Police Station, who said the matter would be investigated.
In another incident on the morning of April 20, also at about 01:00, the FNB ATM at the Engen Filling Station in Evander was bombed.
The criminals fled with an undisclosed amount of money. Nobody has yet been arrested in any of these cases.
