Screams for help alerted a passerby to the plight of security guards who were locked in holding cells after two armed men robbed the Balfour Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga.
The robbers‚ wearing balaclavas‚ got into the court building after breaking a padlock on a gate at 9pm on Saturday. They escaped in two state vehicles with computers.
“A passerby raised an alarm… when they heard people screaming for help from inside the court‚” police said in a statement.
“Police were summoned and upon arrival‚ they found the security guards locked up in the court’s holding cells. A probe by police revealed that the suspects‚ who were wearing balaclavas‚ allegedly gained entry into the court premises by breaking the padlock at the gate.
“They further broke into some offices then stole computers‚ two state vehicles as well as personal belongings of the guards before locking them in the holding cells. The vehicles‚ a Nissan Hardbody and Chevrolet Aveo‚ were found abandoned in Gauteng.”
Police are searching for the two robbers.
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