Suspect linked to various ATM bombings arrested in Hammanskraal

Katlego Sekhu

Hammanskraal Mall ATM bombings — Image: @SAPoliceService on X

Police have arrested the tenth suspect believed to be part of a syndicate responsible for multiple ATM bombings.
The 50-year-old suspect was apprehended in Stinkwater, Hammanskraal, Gauteng.
Previous incidents earlier in 2025 involved armed attacks on ATMs in Morudji Village and Giyani.

Police in Limpopo have arrested the tenth suspect believed to be part of a notorious syndicate responsible for a spate of ATM bombings in the province between 2023 and 2024.

The latest arrest was effected during an ongoing intelligence-driven operation conducted by the Provincial Tracking Team aimed at tracing the remaining suspects. The operation led to the apprehension of a 50-year-old male suspect on the night of Monday, 06 October 2025, at around 21h00, at a hideout in Stinkwater, Hammanskraal, in the Gauteng province.

This follows a series of incidents earlier this year. On Friday, 7 March 2025, at approximately 2AM, a group of armed men allegedly attacked a fuel station in Morudji Village, under the Bolobedu policing precinct, where they held employees at gunpoint before bombing an ATM. No cash was taken as the machines were empty.

The following day, on Saturday, 8 March 2025, at around 4AM, the same group targeted another ATM in the Giyani policing area, where an undisclosed amount of cash was stolen. As the suspects fled, they encountered responding police officers, resulting in a shootout. The suspects abandoned one of their getaway vehicles, a silver sedan, and escaped on foot. The vehicle was confiscated for further investigation.

In the early hours of Sunday, 9 March 2025, acting on gathered intelligence, operational teams tracked the suspects travelling from Giyani to Gauteng. The suspects were intercepted on the R81 Highway near Mall of the North in Polokwane, driving two vehicles – a white sedan with four occupants and a maroon sedan with five occupants.

A search of the vehicles led to the recovery of: explosives found in both cars, two unlicensed firearms with 33 live rounds of ammunition, dye-stained cash, suspected to be proceeds from the ATM bombings.

The arrested suspects, aged between 28 and 43, include four South African nationals and five undocumented foreign nationals.

The latest arrested suspect will appear before the Tiyani Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 8 October 2025. His accomplices remain in custody pending further investigations.