CONVICTED bank robber arrested after a two-year investigation for a bank robbery in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
Detectives from the Hawks arrested Sinako Magi on Tuesday, 24 October, inside his prison cell in the Western Cape and he made a brief appearance in the Port Elizabeth Magistrates Court.
A spokeswoman for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said a 33-year-old convicted bank robber who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in the Western Cape has been charged with a bank robbery in Gqeberha.
“It's alleged that on 22 November 2021, Sinako and an accomplice entered the Absa Bank branch at Govan Mbeki Street in Central, Nelson Mandela Bay, pretending to be clients. One of them approached the teller and handed her a note, forcibly instructing her to hand over the cash in her drawer to avoid injury or death,” she said.
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Mgolodela said the teller complied and handed over an amount of just over R27 000 that was in her drawer.
"Both suspects left the bank after receiving the money. Over two years of investigation, the Hawks left no stone unturned after the matter was reported to them, hence the arrest of Sinako on 24 October.
“Sinako is serving a 15-year sentence in a Western Cape prison after he was linked to similar matters across the city. It's alleged that while detectives have been painstaking in their investigation, he was allegedly involved in other bank robberies. The suspect allegedly used a similar modus operandi when he committed these bank robberies," she said.
Mgolodela said Sinako's case before the Port Elizabeth Magistrates Court was postponed to 7 November for legal representation.
"His co-accused is still at large and being sought by the police,” she said.
