• The armed gang in 30 cars attacked the only petrol station in Ngqushwa, destroying ATMs and looting restaurants.

• Police were outnumbered and couldn’t stop the attack. 

A gang of heavily armed criminals bombed and looted a small Eastern Cape town’s only fuel station.

The criminals, reportedly travelling in about 30 cars from Mthatha, attacked the Ngqushwa service station on Saturday morning. They blew up ATMs and looted fast-food restaurants at the site.

Police who arrived at the scene couldn’t stop the gang as they were outnumbered and outgunned.

Jane Cowley, DA Frontier constituency leader, said the attack shows how badly equipped rural police are.

“This unfortunate event highlights the dire state of our police service, plagued by shortages of personnel, vehicles, and essential crime-fighting technology. When a serious incident of organised gang violence and criminality occurs, SAPS is simply not up to the task to address it, leaving citizens and critical infrastructure vulnerable,” she said.

Cowley has written to Community Safety MEC Xolile Nqatha asking for more resources for small towns like Ngqushwa, including better-equipped police with new technology like ShotSpotter, body cameras and drones.

The service station along the N2 highway had an Engen garage, KFC, Debonairs and Steers restaurants. Its destruction is a major blow to local jobs in an area already hit hard by unemployment.

She warned that unless new businesses invested in the area, people would stay trapped in poverty.

“Without investment, there will be no job opportunities. The growing risk for the community is that it will remain trapped in a cycle of poverty and fear, vulnerable to further criminal attacks,” she said.

Police confirmed that an investigation is underway following a robbery that happened in one of the business places at Peddie on Saturday.

They also confirmed that no arrests have been made yet.

Pictured above: The Ngqushwa service station which was bombed and looted by a gang of criminals.

Source: Facebook