The police in Limpopo have arrested the tenth suspect believed to be part of a notorious syndicate responsible for a spate of ATM bombings that plagued 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 21:00, at a hideout in Stinkwater, Hammanskraal, in the Gauteng province.
This follows a series of incidents earlier this year. On Friday, 07 March 2025, at approximately 02:00, 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, 08 March 2025, at around 04:00, 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, 09 March 2025, acting on gathered intelligence, operational teams tracked the suspects traveling 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. They face multiple charges, including: Possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, possession of illegal explosives, possession of dye-stained cash and Contravention of the Immigration Act (for the undocumented foreign nationals)
The latest arrested suspect will appear before the Tiyani Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 08 October 2025. His accomplices remain in custody pending further investigations.
Police investigations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected as the operation continues.
Cece Smith 