Guards locked in office as cash, firearms and van stolen during a robbery at a bakery in Bushbuckridge

SA Police Service (SAPS) van

Police in Mpumalanga have launched a manhunt for eight armed men who robbed a bakery in Bushbuckridge. Photo: Bongani Shilubane/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Jan 7, 2022

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Rustenburg - A group of armed men made off with an undisclosed amount of money, firearms and a bakkie after robbing a bakery in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga police said on Friday.

Spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the bakery was robbed on Thursday night.

"It is alleged that security officers were patrolling the premises around Sunbake Bakery when about eight armed suspects stormed in and found security officers parked their bakkie at the gate enroute to Nelspruit. The suspects then held the guards at gunpoint and robbed them of their company's firearms and further instructed them to open the gate.

"All security guards were reportedly locked in an office whilst the suspects broke the cash office and detonated some explosives to force open the safe. They then took an undisclosed amount of cash and further robbed them of their company [Bidvest] Toyota bakkie [registration number: TY 74 FS GP] and fled the scene towards the direction of Hazyview," Mohlala said.

He said a case of business robbery was opened and no arrest have been made as yet.

Mpumalanga provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, called for the swift arrest of the perpetrators as well as the recovery of the robbed firearms.

"One loose firearm is a danger to the community. We must go all out and apprehend these suspects before they commit further crimes" she said.

The robbery at the bakery followed another at the post office in Ximhungwe near Bushbuckridge on Tuesday.

According to police reports, about 10 armed men made off with an undisclosed amount of money after they allegedly held up workers at the post office hostage, ordered them to lie down and forced one of the workers to open a safe.

A 28-year-old man was arrested in connection with the post office robbery.

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