TWO burglars raided Mukuru Send Money Home transfer agent offices in Bulawayo city centre and got away with more than US$17 000 and R100 000 in what is suspected to be an inside job.
The raid occurred at the agent offices at Zapalala
Supermarket along Jason Moyo between 9th and 10th Avenue.
It is not clear what time the burglars broke into the shop
but the raid was discovered when the money transfer agent employees reported
for duty at about 6:45AM on Sunday.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abdenico Ncube confirmed
the incident saying investigations were underway.
“We are investigating an unlawful entry and theft case
which occurred at a retail shop on Sunday evening. I don’t have the total
amount that was stolen off-hand but I understand that the money runs into
thousands of US dollars and Rand. Investigations on the matter are ongoing. We
also want to appeal to financial institutions that handle substantial amounts
to employ reputable security companies to man their premises,” said Insp Ncube.
Mukuru Send Money Home manager only identified as Munashe
declined to comment on the matter.
“The case is with the police who are still investigating
what happened. For now, we don’t have a comment as we are waiting for the
police to give us any further information,” said Munashe.
The supermarket which houses the money transfer agent is
usually characterised by queues but yesterday there were only a few people
visiting the shop. Some were being turned away after being informed of the
crime.
Sources said the security guard informed employees that
burglars had used an unknown object to break into the supermarket and shop. It
is however, not clear where the security guard was when the crime was
committed.
“They got away with US$17 140, R109 400 and $1 000. What we gather is that
nothing else in the supermarket was stolen. The thieves went straight to where
the Mukuru safe is located and it seems the suspects had knowledge of the
security code to unlock the safe. The main safe was opened without any evidence
of using force. The safe has four sections and from those, two were unlocked
using a code only known by a few employees. The suspects only used force to
open the other two compartments,” said a source close to the investigations.
The source said the burglars who were wearing face masks
were captured on closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Financial
institutions handling mostly foreign currency have become targets for
criminals.
Two week ago, six armed robbers raided Access Finance
Bureau de Change, getting away with undisclosed amount of money at Parkade
Centre.
The daring armed robbers disarmed a Safeguard security
guard manning the Bureau de Change and even had the guts to attack the security
company’s reaction team that had responded to the distress call and got away
with the team’s vehicle which they later dumped in Malindela suburb. Chronicle
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