A gang of about 15 men murdered an elderly man and made off with nickel worth more than R1 million in a robbery at the Lauds Foundry Equipment premises in Wadeville‚ Ekurhuleni‚ on Wednesday morning‚ police said.
Police initially reported that more than R6 million worth of nickel had been stolen in the heist‚ but the company put the figure at around R1 million.
The gang attacked the premises at around 6.50am‚ pointed firearms at the employees and shot dead a 75-year-old man‚ said Captain Mavela Masondo.
An employee at the business told Times Media that the deceased was their oldest engineer.
The group also made off with computers‚ cellphones and jewellery belonging to the employees.
“It is further alleged that the suspects used a Chevrolet Utility and an 8 ton truck as getaway cars‚” said Masondo
“The suspects are still at large and police are investigating a case of a business robbery and murder.”
Other employees escaped with minor injuries but were badly shaken by the ordeal.
A staff member‚ who asked that she not be named‚ told TimesLIVE that the entire incident dragged on for over an hour.
The business premises were also broken into several days ago‚ during which equipment was taken and the CCTV cameras were ripped out.
The cameras had not yet been repaired at the time of this robbery.
It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were linked.
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