Industry task team cuts ATM bombings by 30% after a 72% surge, with 46 arrests under Project Big Bang

ATM bombings in South Africa declined 30% across November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025, exceeding Project Big Bang's original 20% reduction target, TechCentral reported.

The decline followed a 72% increase in ATM bombings between 2019 and 2023, which prompted formation of the task team.

Project Big Bang ran from May 2024 to January 2025, combining Sabric, Online Intelligence, the Petroleum Security Initiative, oil companies and the SAPS. The operation identified, traced and arrested 46 top perpetrators linked to 69 cases.

Seizures included explosives, vehicles, firearms, clothing used at crime scenes and more than R400,000 in dye-stained cash.

Online Intelligence described the result as an "unmitigated success" and credited data-driven intelligence for the breakthrough. "This project has proved that when industries collaborate, meaningful change happens," said Mischa Theron, Big-Bang project manager at Online Intelligence.

Source: TechCentral, 14 March 2025 - techcentral.co.za (also: dailyfriend.co.za)