The Tshilwavhusiku police are investigating a case of burglary and the use of explosives, after thieves broke into the Kutama Filling Station in Maebane on Saturday night (3rd).

According to a police statement, thieves entered the filling station through a hole which they had cut in the roof. They disconnected the alarm and used explosives to blast open a money safe. No money was found inside the safe, but the overall damage is estimated at R8 000.

When Limpopo Mirror visited the filling station, fruit-and-snack stall owners and their clients around the filling station were discussing the case. Vho-Shonisani Rambuda, an attendant at the filling station, expressed her disappointment at what had happened to her workplace. “Mindless people broke into this filling station,” she said. “It's shameful. We're helping people access fuel right here in the area, as this cuts short the distance of refilling in the town. But it seems some people are ignorant of that.”

Rambuda added that, before they left the place, thieves picked up things such as bottled oils and tea utensils and scattered them around after finding nothing inside the safe.

The spokesperson for the Tshilwavhusiku police, Constable Musiwalo Mahuwa, says that people must know that when they damage and steal from a place like a filling station, they are only disadvantaging the whole community. “Just imagine if this filling station was to close down as a result of crimes like these,” he points out. “Even visitors to our area might suffer as a result. As the police, we condemn this kind of behaviour.”