Gauteng police on Thursday recovered military explosives that were allegedly set to be delivered to illegal miners in Benoni.
According to Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the members were following up on information that the explosives were allegedly going to be delivered to illegal miners on Snake Road in Benoni.
“The team immediately operationalised the information the information and descended on the scene, where they found a box with seven hand grenades, one CS smoke generator, a military shot exploder, a miliary tester and eighteen miliary switches,” said Brigadier Mathe.
She said members of the Germiston bomb disposal unit were deployed to the scene to recover the devices.
“To ensure the safety and security of the surrounding communities, one of the hand grenades which was found to be unstable was destroyed on the spot to prevent any injuries and damage to property,” Mathe said.
She said a multidisciplinary team has been dispatched to monitor the area to effect possible arrests. An inquiry has also been registered to determine the origin of the explosive devices and equipment,” said Mathe.
The police have called on anyone with information to call the Crime Stop hotline number on 08600 10111.
In a separate incident, Mpumalanga police have launched a manhunt for suspects involved in a robbery incident that occurred at a fuel station at Embalenhle in the early hours of Thursday morning.
It is alleged that a group of suspects detonated some explosives which damaged an ATM and the suspects fled off with an undisclosed amount of money which they took from the machine, said Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“According to the report, a group of about four armed suspects wearing masks and hand gloves are said to have stormed into the fuel station where they held the staff at gunpoint. It is then that they went for the ATM machine and carried out their mission. Law enforcement agencies were activated via a panic button and the security guards responded accordingly.
“Prior to the suspect fleeing with the cash, they noticed the security officials arriving and reportedly fired some shots towards the guards who responded. One of the shots reportedly hit the guards’ response vehicle, leaving it with a bullet hole but fortunately on injuries were reported.”
A case of robbery with an additional case of ATM bombing was opened.
Source: Times Live, SABC News, Eyewitness News, The Citizen, The South African, image from Twitter: @SAPoliceService