9 ATM Bombing Suspects Arrested After Intelligence Operation

The operation was led by the Provincial Tracking Team, Provincial Investigations Unit, and Capricorn Flying Squad, with additional support from a private security company.

The arrests came after a violent ATM bombing spree that took place in Morudji Village and Giyani earlier in March 2025.

ATM Bombings in Morudji Village and Giyani

On Friday, March 07, 2025, at approximately 02:00 AM, a group of armed men attacked a fuel station in Morudji Village, Bolobedu policing precinct.

The suspects held employees at gunpoint before bombing the ATM.However, no money was stolen as the ATM was empty.

The following morning, Saturday, 08 March 2025, at around 04:00 AM, the same group targeted another ATM in the Giyani policing area, where they managed to steal an undisclosed amount of cash.

As the suspects attempted to flee the scene, they encountered police officers, which led to a shootout.

The criminals abandoned one of their getaway vehicles—a silver sedan—and escaped on foot.

The abandoned vehicle was seized by the Police as evidence.

Police Response Leads To Arrests On R81 Highway

In the early hours of Sunday, 09 March 2025, acting on intelligence, operational teams tracked the suspects as they fled from Giyani to Gauteng.

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The police intercepted two vehicles—a white sedan with four occupants and a maroon sedan with five occupants—on the R81 highway near Mall of the North in Polokwane.

During the search of the vehicles, officers recovered explosives, two illegal firearms with 33 live rounds of ammunition, and dye-stained cash, suspected to be proceeds from the ATM bombings.

The two vehicles, along with the recovered items, were confiscated as evidence.

Among the nine arrested suspects, four are South African nationals, and five are foreign nationals, who were found to be in the country illegally.

Suspects Face Multiple Charges, For Firearms and Explosives Possession

The suspects will face a range of charges, including possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

Other charges includes, possession of illegal explosives, possession of dye-stained money, and contravention of the Immigration Act for the five undocumented foreign nationals.

Limpopo Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, speaking on the operation said,  “The suspects thought they could evade justice, but our dedicated teams remained relentless in their pursuit,” Lieutenant General Hadebe said.

The arrested suspects will appear before a Magistrate’s Courts in Limpopo soon.