Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

Three ATMs belonging to three different banks were blown up in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

Robbers got away with a substantial amount of money as well as a police vehicle.

The blasts at the Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank ATMs in the Webber Shopping Centre in Hammersdale caused damage estimated at R4million.

Armed robbers entered the centre by cutting a lock at the entrance.

Police spokesman Henry Budhram said the two security guards on duty were locked up in a room while the ATMs were bombed.

"The police who went to the scene exchanged gunfire with the robbers," Budhram said. "No one was injured and the robbers fled in a vehicle the police had parked nearby."

The DA has expressed concern at the increase in ATM bombings this year.National spokesman Dianne Kohler-Barnard said that this crime needed to be treated as a national emergency and to be investigated by a dedicated unit within the SAPS.

She said the modus operandi indicated that highly organised individuals, armed with rifles and explosives, are involved.

"This raises the concern that SAPS or SANDF members are possibly involved," Kohler-Barnard said.