A group of armed robbers in South Africa executed a daring raid on an ATM at a supermarket this week, stealing the entire machine and whisking it away in the back of a pickup truck.
The audacious theft took place in the town of Lady Frere, in the east of the country. According to News24, the five-man gang struck Wednesday morning while the local Spar store was at its busiest.
CCTV from inside the store showed the men stroll in, kitted out with balaclavas and brandishing handguns. The robbers grabbed shoppers, dragging and pushing them away from the ATM. Some bystanders were forced to the ground at gunpoint before scrambling away from the armed men.
The machine was one used by the South African Social Security Agency to pay out grants to citizens. As such, there were a significant number of people waiting nearby, all of whom were put in sudden and serious danger as one of the gunman took a shot at a security camera.
As the gang unplug the ATM, a silver pickup backs into view, apparently through the front doors of the store. The truck's tailgate was already lowered, ready to receive the stolen cargo. Members of the group direct the driver as others begin shifting—initially with some difficulty—the ATM towards the door.
They eventually manage to load the enormous machine into the back of the truck, before hopping aboard and speeding out of sight. The entire operation took less than 2 minutes.
Store manager Jack Magingsa told News24 he "heard people screaming as soon as the guys walked in." He noted the "store was really busy since people were withdrawing pension money," adding that one of the gang "shot at one of the cameras." Magingsa said the ATM had been freshly loaded with cash only that morning.
Police spokesperson Captain Namhla Mdleleni said that no arrests had yet been made, but the investigation was ongoing. Mdleleni said an undisclosed sum of money had been inside the ATM when it was taken, adding the truck was believed to be sporting fake licence plates during the robbery.
According to The South African, the small town of Lady Frere was the scene of another heist earlier this year, when security guards carrying cash for ATMs were ambushed by an armed gang. Overpowered and disarmed, the guards were helpless as the men fled with an undisclosed large sum of money. One man was later arrested and charged with armed robbery.
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