Criminals have become so determined that they have resorted to blowing up ATMs with explosives believed to have been stolen from mines. In the past two months, seven ATMs have been blown up, and the police believe that the explosives were stolen from mines.
Three of the affected ATMs belong to Standard Bank and four belong to Absa.
One of the Standard Bank ATMs was blown up on Thursday morning near the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, while the other two affected Standard Bank ATMs were also in Mpumalanga.
Two of the Absa ATM explosions occurred in Kwa-Thema, on the East Rand in Johannesburg, while the other two were in Soweto and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal.
Commercial explosives were used to blow up the ATMs in an attempt to steal money from inside the machines.
East Rand police spokesperson Superintendent Andy Pieke said the police believe the explosives used in the robberies are usually used for underground mining. ”The detonation fuses give people time to get away,” he said.
Two of the Absa blasts happened near garages. The first was on July 18 at the corner of Thema and Nkosi streets in Kwa-Thema where a small amount of cash was stolen. The second happened on July 30 on Shabangu Street, also in Kwa-Thema, where no money was stolen. Both ATMs were hit at about 2am. Pieke said there was a possibility that the same people were responsible for both blasts.
However, according to Pieke, it is not that easy to steal explosives from the mines. ”There is a whole list of regulations regarding the use and storage, and the reporting of, if explosives go missing.”
A communications adviser for the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, Sibongiseni Dlamini, said there are strict legal requirements under which all explosives have to be stored and that only authorised persons at the mines have access to these explosives. But depending on the conditions prevailing in each mine, security might be compromised.
Absa spokesperson Errol Smith said the bank is very concerned at the cases but is confident that arrests will be made. ”It’s nothing more than terrorism to me. Once you put a bomb somewhere it’s terrorism … those explosions can potentially lead to loss of life,” he said.
Absa has built about 80 new branches this year and installed 400 new ATMs, 80% of them in ”previously disadvantaged communities” in an attempt to ”get banking to the people”.
Smith said the criminals are discriminating against the communities. ”Once they blow up a machine in a previously disadvantaged community, they deprive the community of access to financial services.”
Spokesperson for Standard Bank Eric Larson said the Standard Bank ATM robberies have been widespread and random. Money was stolen in all three cases but Larson said it was not a large amount.
He said the bank deplores these random acts of violence and that they are a major inconvenience for customers. ”It seems to be a trend that’s affecting all the banks over the past few weeks … we are looking into ways to resolve the issue,” he said.
Last year, explosives were also found attached to a First National Bank ATM in Tsakane, which is also on the East Rand. Pieke said the explosives were found at 3.15am and had not detonated.
Witnesses to the most recent East Rand ATM explosion are being interviewed by the police. Pieke said the witnesses had seen three men fleeing the scene.