Mangweni – A paramedic and his accomplice have been arrested for an armed robbery at a post office in Mangweni, near Tonga outside Malelane, in Mpumalanga.
Witnesses told police that two armed robbers stormed into the post office Friday morning and held staff at gunpoint.
The armed robbers demanded the keys to the safe and tied up the staff before they made off with an undisclosed amount in cash.
They sped off in a VW Golf.
Acting on a tip-off, police were able to arrest the suspects within hours.
Shockingly, when the suspects aged 26 and 39 were arrested it emerged that one of them was a paramedic.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said a firearm with ammunition was found during the arrest of the suspects.
Colonel Mdhluli added: “What is even more shocking is that one of the suspects is believed to be working as a paramedic.
He confirmed that: “A robbery was committed at a post office in Mangweni this morning around 07:10. Armed suspects entered the post office and held the employees at gunpoint”.
Colonel Mdhluli said their preliminary investigation revealed that the seized firearm was stolen during a house robbery in Mayflower near Ermelo in Mpumanga in April 2023.
He said besides the seized gun with about 10 bullets, police recovered the cash stolen during the robbery and a green paramedic’s uniform.
They also recovered a set of keys suspected to be from the post office.
Cable ties similar to the ones used to retrain the post office employees were also recovered from the suspects.
“The firearm will surely undergo ballistic testing to determine whether it was not previously used in the commission of crime elsewhere,” said Colonel Mdhluli.
“Therefore police cannot rule out the possibility of adding more charges against the suspects as the investigation continues.”
Although traumatised, the post office staff were physically unharmed.
Mpumalanga police commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela hailed the arrest of the suspects.
“We are also thankful to members of the public who continuously work hand in glove with us by alerting us on the whereabouts of suspects. Working together in this fashion we can only achieve more,” said Lieutenant General Manamela.
The suspects will appear in the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court on Monday, (5 February 2024).
