Thieves Steal Cash at Beitbridge Border Post: 'Did They Carry the Guard In?'

• A group of armed men swooped in on and held up staff at a Foreign Exchange dealer at the Beitbridge border post
• In video footage capturing the incident, the robbers restrain the staff before filling up large carry bags with the cash
• Online, locals expressed little to no shock at the incident and blamed foreigners for a range of lawless acts in South Africa

MUSINA - The Inter Africa Bureau de Change at the Beitbridge border post was on Saturday the target of a gang of gun-toting thieves in Musina, Limpopo.

A video circulated widely on social media shows three men entering the Foreign Exchange dealer and stunning the staff – two women and a man in security guard uniform who appeared unconscious in the footage as he was carried in from a separate part of the establishment by the assailants.

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According to News24, the company, which has operated at the border post for more than 20 years, said the robbers forced their way into the business before ambushing the security guard.

The two-minute clip of the incident shows the two women going about their business and then suddenly scampering away from the glass window that separates customers and staff.

Foreign national blamed for scourge

One of the women motions to the locked door and pushes a button that disengages it while the other appears to enter a separate room. The robbers are then seen bundling the guard to the ground before gathering the money from where it is kept.

Briefly News understands an undisclosed amount of money was stolen with police investigating a case of armed robbery and theft. It was unclear if this was the first such incident at Africa Bureau de Change.

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However, a report by IOL indicated that deportation of illegal immigrants was a more common occurrence at the border post, with thousands of people arrested for coming into and attempting to enter South Africa illegally.

"We labour for long periods attempting to ensure people possess the proper documents and deport those who don't. But our efforts come to nought when our Zimbabwean counterparts [simply let them walk off]. They come back and, if they are unlucky, we re-arrest them."

The sentiments expressed on social media bordered on the usual rhetoric of giving foreign nationals free rein to do as they will once they are settled in South Africa.

Locals examine bizarre events

Expressions of shock and alarm at the incident were few and far between as netizens, instead, described it as commonplace. Briefly News went down the comments strip to bring readers all the indifferent reactions to the incident.

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@Puseletso__M wrote:

"Did they carry the security guard in?"

@Airachaz said:

"We judge the lady for opening the door but imagine if you were in the same situation?"

@MoscurryLeshawn added:

"Someone was held hostage for Christ's sake, can't y'all see that. If u gon keep on asking, 'Why did they open the door'."

Medical practice robbed of cellphones, laptops

Elsewhere, two suspects are in custody for allegedly robbing a medical practice near Montgomery Park in Randburg, Johannesburg, on 10 January.

According to Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, police received information about a robbery in progress at a surgery situated in Roosevelt Park and, at about 9 am, set up surveillance outside the establishment.

Masondo told Briefly News that the robbers were observed exiting the premises, and when confronted by police, jumped into their getaway car and sped off. A high-speed chase and shootout ensued before the assailants lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole.

Source: Briefly News