ROBBERS BOMB ATMS STEAL OVER E1.3M

MPAKA – It took robbers about five minutes to bomb and rob two ATMs over E1.3m and the Royal Eswatini Police Service’s (REPS) swift intervention saw some of them being arrested within an hour.

The incident took place at Mpaka Shopping Complex in the Lubombo Region, in the early hours of yesterday morning, around 1am, and the two affected automated teller machines (ATM) belong to First National Bank (FNB) and EswatiniBank. Apart from the E1 396 000 which the robbers stole, over E120 000 was recovered at the scene. Where the incident took place, there are three ATMs in close proximity and they belong to FNB, EswatiniBank and Swaziland Building Society. According to one of the security guards, who were on duty when the incident took place, it was around 1am when they heard a loud  banging sound, the  explosion, which was followed by several gunshots. At that time, he said there was a truck that made a stop, but after the gun shots, it drove off.

Rumbled

When describing the explosion,  the security guard said it was so loud that it  felt as if the ground he was  standing on rumbled beneath his feet  and the windows  of the shopping complex   and surrounding buildings made a rattling sound. The guard said when this happened; he was a stone throw  away from the ATMs as his instincts kept on telling him to walk around. He said as he was sitting at his work station (near the ATM) and his instincts kept on telling him that he should move around, within 30 minutes, he heard the sound of the explosion. When he looked around, he saw the other security guard, who was in the bathroom, jumping over a wall fence.

“When I turned towards the ATM, where the explosion sound came from , I saw two men rushing towards the ATM and I thought they were lighting fireworks,” the guard said.
Thereafter, he said the other guard shouted that they should run away as robbers were bombing the ATMs, and as he was running towards his counterpart, he heard  a second explosion.
“When I looked back, I found that the lights of the ATM were off and that is when I realised that this was more serious than I  thought,” he said.

Fire

He said when he reached his counterpart, he realised that there was a man who was standing on the other side of the road, in front of the market stalls. He said he ran away together with  his colleague for cover. “I looked back again and I saw some fire. I thought they had now bombed the three ATMs, since they are  so close to each other,” he said. He said immediately they got to  a safe place to hide, which was in between the houses adjacent to the shopping complex, on the other side of the gravel road, he called and reported the incident to his supervisors, who then contacted the police.  Moments later, while they were hiding, he said they saw about three or four people crossing the road and they believe it was the robbers.
However, he said they did not see their car and where they had parked it. He said they just disappeared into the thick of night  on foot, following the fact that it had been raining during the night.

Explosions

On the other hand, another source, who lives just behind the shopping complex, said when they peeped through the window after being woken up by the loud explosions, he first thought the complex had caught fire as it was covered in smoke. He said since they were afraid to come out of the house, they made some calls and were told that ATMs had been bombed and police were already on their way. He said they eventually went to the scene when they learnt that the police had arrived. He said upon their arrival, the senior officials from the Lubombo Police Regional Headquarters communicated with their equals from the other regions to mount roadblocks on all main roads from Mpaka.  

Meanwhile, FNB Eswatini Acting Chief Marketing Officer Mncedzi Ngomane, confirmed that one of their ATMs located in Mpaka, along the MR3 Public Road, was targeted in a bombing incident which took place in  the early hours yesterday. He said while the attack caused significant damage to equipment, they are relieved to report that no injuries or loss of life occurred. Thereafter, he assured their customers that their funds remain secure. He said although the perpetrators attempted to access cash, the advanced dye-ink security feature installed on all their ATMs ensured the cash would be unusable.

“We remain committed to safeguarding our customers’ funds and maintaining the integrity of our banking services,” Ngomane said. To mitigate any inconvenience caused by this incident, he said their customers at Mpaka and surrounding areas can continue accessing FNB cash services at FNB Cash Plus Agents around their area as well as nearby ATMs at Mafutseni Total Filling Station and at Lonhlupheko next to Engen Filling Station.

Investigation

Moreover, he said since this is a matter that is now under police investigation, FNB Eswatini will not be making any further comments about it.On the same note, EswatiniBank Executive Manager Marketing Lindiwe Shongwe, also confirmed the incident. She said it is unfortunate that this incident took place and highlighted that as a bank, they are still conducting their own investigation and working closely with the police.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: