An explosive criminal trend has ignited in eMalahleni after another petrol station convenience store fell victim to an explosive robbery in the early hours of the morning.
At around 01:00 on Tuesday, June 25, a deafening boom ran through Voortrekker Street after five men robbed the convenience store and blew up the drop-safe at a well-known petrol station. It is alleged that a man dropped something orange into the one-way kiosk window, whilst another suspect forced the locked automatic doors open.
A third suspect was allegedly pointing a gun at the staff member manning the kiosk so that he could not alert for help.
Once the door had been forced open, the five men allegedly entered the store and held the staff member at gunpoint while they started taking the cigarettes from behind the sales counter. Once they were done with the cigarettes, it is alleged that they pushed the staff member outside the shop.
Shortly after the five suspects and the staff member had left the shop, a loud bang was heard. They had blown up the drop-safe.
A white bakkie that was unrelated to the incident arrived at the shop shortly after the explosion, and the suspects allegedly opened fire on the unsuspecting driver of the bakkie. The bakkie drove off, with the driver in fear for his life. In the confusion, the five men managed to make a clean getaway with the cigarettes and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The staff member and management of the petrol station and store were contacted, but are declining to comment at this time.
Investigations into this robbery are underway, “This type of crime is rearing its ugly head in eMalahleni and needs to be stopped before there are serious injuries. We urge anyone with information regarding these criminals and these extremely dangerous bombings to please contact Witbank SAPS on 079 891 5570, Crime Stop on 086 00 10111, or SAPS Crime Line on 32211,” said Captain Eddie Hall, spokesperson for Witbank Police.
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