Cape Town - Six men have been arrested in a late night ATM robbery at a Table View restaurant at the weekend.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the incident took place at a restaurant in Flamingo Vlei in Table View on Saturday at about 11.30pm.
He said the night manager was opening the ATM machine in the restaurant to load money, when one of the three men, who had been sitting at the bar grabbed her and told her to keep quiet.
“She saw a firearm and started screaming. The suspects took the safe keys and an undisclosed amount of cash,” he said.
After taking the money, the suspects then robbed the patrons of their wallets and jewellery.
It is alleged that while the robbers were focusing on the patrons, the night manager sent a message to her husband, and he contacted the Table View Neighbourhood Watch, who contacted Table View police.
There was a shootout between the police and the suspects.
Van Wyk said: “Six of the eight suspects were apprehended, while two managed to flee the scene. The cash stolen from the ATM was found in the possession of one of the suspects, and three firearms, two revolvers and a Norinco pistol were confiscated. No one was injured.”
Last week, the Cape Argus reported that ATM robberies had decreased in the city centre, despite it being a national problem.
The South Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) confirmed there was a decrease in the number of people being robbed at ATMs, but also pointed out that the Western Cape was an area of concern.
Sabric chief executive Kaylani Pillay said: “Card fraud and ATM robberies remain a concern in the Western Cape, but no specific increase has been reported.
“The banks continue to deploy mitigation measures to fight all banking crime.”
The Central City Improvement District (CCID) said at least two incidents of ATM robberies occurred in the city centre a week, which was a decrease from the one ATM robbery per day, which was reported two months ago.
CCID manager for safety and security Muneeb Hendricks attributed the decline to a multi-prong approach, which had been taken by safety authorities and Sabric.
He said: “Officials from Sabric conducted a training seminar with our safety and security personnel and our law enforcement partners, including SAPS and the City’s Cyclops and CCTV unit. We also invited neighbouring city improvement districts.”
Cape Argus