Four men appeared in the Ficksburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday (07/07) for their alleged involvement in ATM burglaries in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District.
They are: Simphiwe Mthethwa (41), Mike Mokoena (37), Mario Mashaba (49), and Khula Nicolas Ngogoto (53).
Leading up to their arrest, the police received several complaints regarding ATMs that were broken into with the use of a cutting torch.
On Wednesday (05/07) the investigating team received information of the suspects, who they believe to be responsible for the crimes.
On Thursday, at about 01:15, officials received information that an ATM in Marquard was being tampered with.
The alarm was sounded, and the suspects fled the scene without gaining access to the bank.
The steel door to the bank, however, had already been cut off with the use of a cutting torch.
With the help of the Ficksburg Visible Policing unit, the suspects were traced to the R26 road between Clocolan and Ficksburg. The four men were arrested and the police confiscated a 9mm pistol, cutting torches, gloves, balaclavas, pipes, ropes, cellphones, an Isuzu bakkie, axes, masks, two-way radios, pliers, and cash.
The suspects hail from Mpumalanga and Gauteng, and are linked with robbery cases reported in Memel, Excelsior and Marquard.
These cases were reported as business burglaries at ATMs, and cutting torches were used in all these instances of crime.
The suspects are charged with four counts of business burglary, as well as possession of burglary equipment.
They will remain in custody until 19 July, when they will apply for bail.
