Free State police spokesperson, Motantsi Makhele, tells OFM News authorities are still gathering crucial information linking two men aged 37 and 39 years old, currently in police custody, to the crime. The duo was arrested at a nearby Thaba’ Nchu filling station with a large sum of cash in the VW Polo they were travelling in on the day of the robbery. The accused and their three accomplices are believed to have travelled to the post office around midday on Tuesday in a VW Polo. They allegedly made their way into the building by pretending to be pest controllers.

According to Makhele, one of the accused was clad in personal protective equipment (PPE) - playing the part. It was he who informed security they were there to fumigate the post office, which is used as a service point to disburse grants for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). It was at 11:20 am when they entered the building, ordering staff to lie flat on the floor, before instructing one of the employees to open the safe. Shortly thereafter they fled the scene, with the undisclosed cash in hand.

OFM News has been anonymously informed, that this isn’t the first armed robbery of a Sassa service point – post office – in the Mangaung area in 2020. This is yet to be confirmed by the police, but there are incidents reported elsewhere in the country, indicating that the Sassa service points are now becoming a hotspot for criminals in search of cash.

Similar-style armed robberies occurred at two Cape Town post offices, also on Tuesday. The first occurred at Bishop Lavis at 10am, whilst a second occurred at Belhar at around the same time. According to Eyewitness News, three suspects stormed the Bishop Lavis post office, then pointed guns at staff forcing them to lie down on the floor. They demanded the keys to the safe before taking an undisclosed amount of cash and fleeing the scene. No injuries were sustained during this incident.

OFM News