THE City Police say they are hot on the heels of three suspects who broke into a shop and stole a Bank Windhoek compact ATM early yesterday.

Superintendent Helena Mootseng said the incident took place between 01h00 and 03h00 in Pionierspark Extension 1 at a small grocery shop.

She said they are studying CCTV footage and "it is just a matter of time before we apprehend them".

According to her, there was N$1 800 in the device.

The suspects are suspected to have used a screwdriver to break into the shop. They went straight for the bank machine and stole nothing else.

Mootseng emphasised that the police "will leave no stone unturned" to deal with this "very serious crime". "This is something that we will not allow."

Riaan van Rooyen, Bank Windhoek's spokesperson, said the machine itself does not belong to the bank.

"Bank Windhoek is aware of a burglary at Pionierspark Square where an ATM cash express machine was stolen. The ATM cash express machines do not belong to Bank Windhoek, but to ATM Solutions, hence Bank Windhoek cannot provide information on how much cash was in the machine. Bank Windhoek has a business relationship with ATM Solutions."

Heinrich Zehrt of ATM Solutions did not want to disclose the value of the machine.