Dordrecht postmaster in court over R720,000 heist

The Dordrecht postmaster who admitted to masterminding a robbery in which about R720,000 was stolen is set to appear in the Dordrecht Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

In a media statement on Tuesday, Eastern Cape MEC for safety and liaison Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe called for justice to be served.

The money that was stolen was meant to go to thousands of recipients of the R350 Covid-19 relief-of-distress grant.

“People stood in long queues for hours waiting to get their money.

“I wish to thank the police for their swift action in this and for recovering some of that money,” Tikana-Gxothiwe said.

In the statement Tikana-Gxothiwe’s spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said the money was stolen from the Post Office where the postmaster was working.

He will appear alongside four co-accused, among them a Burundian national and a government official who was the alleged driver of the getaway car.

The statement said three of the suspects had walked into the Post Office carrying firearms.

Shortly afterwards an amount of R600,000 was delivered as per a prior request by the postmaster.

The suspects disarmed a security guard before demanding money at gunpoint from the workers and making off with a total amount of R720,000.

Tikana-Gxothiwe applauded the swift police investigation which had led to the arrest of three suspects in Komani, including the driver of the getaway car.

She added that R250,000 and a firearm belonging to the security guard had been recovered.

Four of the suspects had confessed to committing the crime, including the postmaster, the statement said.

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