POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested a 35-year-old suspected
armed robber who was found in possession of a loaded AK47 rifle which was
stolen from the Zimbabwe Republic Police Armoury.
Ame Mpala of Pumula East suburb was arrested on Wednesday
morning along the Gwanda-Bulawayo Road at a police roadblock 22km from
Bulawayo.
Bulawayo deputy police spokesperson Inspector Abednico
Ncube could not be immediately reached for comment yesterday.
However, sources close to the case said Mpala was a
passenger in a Toyota Wish when officers manning a roadblock conducted a spot
check and discovered that he was carrying an AK47 assault rifle.
“When officers
started searching the car, Mpala is alleged to have tried to disembark from the
vehicle leaving his satchel behind. But alert cops spotted his uneasiness and
ordered him to stay put in the car as they took a keen interest in him,” said
the source.
“One of the officers approached him and started searching
his bag only to discover the high calibre AK47 gun with its loaded magazine.
Some of its parts were covered in a wrapped up plastic bag with black
insulation tape concealing that it’s a gun.”
The source said Mpala tried to escape but alert cops were
already onto him. “The officers
arrested him and drove to Hillside Police Station together with all the
passengers who were in the car. The officers started suspecting that all the
passengers in the car could be a gang that was coming from committing armed
robbery crimes. However, at the station it became clear that the other
passengers and the driver had nothing to do with the gun. The suspect is
alleged to have implicated a police officer as the source of the gun. It was
also discovered that the gun belonged to the ZRP and was removed from armoury
in 2015,” said the source.
The source said the matter was still under investigation as
cops were yet to interview the cop who Mpala had implicated.
Armed robbery cases are of concern in the country with cops
declaring war on perpetrators.
In 2017, police arrested a 39-year-old cop attached to the
elite Police Special Tactics (PSTT) for robbing a fuel station using an AK47.
Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment