Those behind the theft of millions in foreign currency from the State Security Agency in Pretoria knew exactly what they were doing, the Hawks said on Wednesday.

“Whether it’s an inside job or not is a matter that we are also looking into,” spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

It was not a robbery, as there was no forced entry. The money was stolen from a safe between Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“It’s a burglary. They used a different part of the building to enter the place. They knew exactly what they were doing.”

Mulaudzi said investigators were viewing CCTV footage and had determined how many people were involved. One still image showing one of the alleged thieves was released to the public this week. A reward was being offered to anyone with information about the crime.

Foreign currency, including dollars and euros, worth R17m was stolen – and not R50m as had been previously reported.

The matter was being viewed in “an extremely serious light”.

Hawks national head Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza said in an earlier statement: “Someone, somewhere, knows something about this case. We are asking that person to come forward with that crucial information in order to fast-track the investigation.” News24