The gang of eight most wanted suspected armed robbers,
including the notorious Musa Taj Abdul (46) and their police officer host who
were arrested in a major raid in Beitbridge on Monday, is now in Harare for
further investigations.
A manhunt is in progress for four other suspects who
managed to escape during the raid. The eight arrested were moved to Harare
under heavy Support Unit guard on Tuesday by CID Homicide.
An application was made to the Harare Magistrates Court for
a warrant to hold the armed robbers a little longer for questioning at Harare
Central Police Station. Warrants of arrest for Abdul go back to 1999, with
further warrants in 2005 and 2006.
He managed to elude all attempts to handcuff him until
Monday. Others have warrants outstanding from 2018 and 2019.
Of the four who escaped when a Beitbridge house was raided,
Abednigo Dhlamini and Elias Mpofu, alias Jabulani or Obasanjo, are believed to
have crossed into South Africa, but Brian Murape and Carlington Marasha are
suspected to be still in Zimbabwe.
The gang is suspected to have committed most of its
robberies in Harare.
Police have been chasing Abdul for close to two decades,
but his run came to an end on Monday when he was grabbed together with a fired
former Masvingo Central police officer Rudolf Kanhanga alias Tapiwa Munatsi
(29), Liberty Mupamhanga (29), Prince Makodza (31), Godfrey Mupamhanga (27),
Charles Lundu (47) and Innocent Jairos (32).
A silver Noringo pistol with an obliterated serial number
and a magazine with 11 rounds, 19×12 bore gauge live rounds in a webbing belt
placed in a black satchel stashed in a washing basket, and a pair of number
plates AEX 1577 were allegedly recovered from the suspects. A balaclava was
found stashed in their getaway car.
The gang has been sought in connection with a number of
armed robberies, including the Mashwede case in Harare recently.
Investigations will be looking at the chain of evidence
that could tie the arrested men to the robberies, with any prosecutions having
to show, beyond reasonable doubt, that those in custody are the ones who
committed the suspected robberies.
Sources said Abdul, who was once convicted in 1995 for
tampering with a motor vehicle, is also wanted for questioning in Botswana and
South Africa over robberies in those countries, and Zimbabwean police will soon
advise their counterparts.
It is believed the gang owns several properties in South
Africa, bought through proceeds of criminal enterprise.
In one of the recent cases, members of the gang are
suspected to have been the robbers who raided Trauma Centre in Borrowdale and
stole a safe containing an undisclosed amount of cash and cellphones, using two
rented cars in the robbery — a silver Toyota Fortuner and a Honda Fit.
The Fortuner, suspected to have been driven by Abdul (alias
Musa Mahommed or Kedha), was rammed by a senior manager of the centre and was
then dumped in Borrowdale, while the gang escaped in the Honda.
Investigations revealed that before raiding the medical
facility, the robbers had first raided a house in Queensdale where they got
away with cellphones and masks.
The arrested men are also suspected to be the gang that
undertook a spate of armed robberies in Harare starting on December 20 last
year when at around 3.30pm they allegedly pounced on Culdees Honye (33),
Wilfred Motsi (51) and Cornelius Mutandwa at Wessec Sol Enterprises, pointed
guns at Honye and ordered her to lie down before they grabbed Motsi, who was a
customer making inquiries, searched him and took his Tecno Spark 4 and Samsung
cellphones.
Honye then showed the robbers two safes containing US$14 000,
$150 240 and R21 500.
The robbers took the two safes and loaded them into an
Isuzu KB 240 single cab truck owned by Motsi.
The robbers then confronted a security guard with Fawcett
Security, disarmed him of his service firearm and drove away in the stolen
vehicle which was later found abandoned in the Arcturus area together with the
two safes which had been forcibly opened.
The suspects are also thought to be the gang that broke
into the house of Jealous Chuma 10 days later at 11pm. While inside, the
robbers assaulted Chuma with logs and shovels demanding cash and valuables and
after ransacking the house stole a 20 litre bucket containing $25 000, US$900
and R800, which was in a cashbox inside the bedroom and vanished with it.
A third robbery thought to have been committed by the gang
took place on February 5 this year when robbers pounced on Jairos Jeke (33) and
his brother, Simbisai (30) at Makoni Shopping Centre at around 2pm.
Upon arrival in a car, they fired several shots into the
air from their pistols and an AK47 rifle before confronting the victims, whom
they assaulted with metal bars demanding cash and valuables.
One of the robbers, who was brandishing an iron bar, broke
Jairos’ motor vehicle windows and ordered him to surrender his firearm and then
searched Simbisai’s motor vehicle and took a bag, which had $37 000 and a
Samsung S9.
They allegedly barged into Jairos’ car and drove off at
high speed following their getaway vehicle towards Dema.
In Jairos’ vehicle, the robbers took US$7 000 and two small
Nokia cellphones. The total amount stolen was US$12 000 and $37 000, and
nothing was recovered.
In a fourth case in which the arrested men are suspected of
being involved, robbers pounced on Rodney Dangarembizi (40), Dumisani Moses
Dube, Tinashe Masango (28), Faith Nyambirai (27) and Betty Chitando (22) on 26
February at around 7.50am, confronted Dangarembizi, who was standing beside his
vehicle in the garage at home, assaulted him with open hands demanding cash and
valuables, before taking US$3 000 from his pockets.
The robbers demanded more cash and force-marched
Dangarembizi into his main house which they combed and stole US$37 000 cash,
jewellery, several pairs of shoes, an Apple laptop and car keys which were in
his bedroom.
They went on to open a gun cabinet where they stole a 9mm
Star pistol and 120 rounds of ammunition, a Samsung AZ core and a Huawei Nova
4.
Dangarembizi was force-marched at gunpoint to his garage
where the robbers ordered him into his Honda Fit. One robber took charge of a
white Hyundai belonging to the businessman, and demanded to know the
whereabouts of Mr Tawanda Nyambirai, the owner of the TN Holdings premises next
to Dangarembizi’s home.
Dangarembizi led the gang to the TN Holdings premises where
they confronted other complainants. The gang searched Dumisani Dube and stole
US$250, an HP laptop and his Samsung J1.
The robbers demanded to be taken to the offices of the
company’s CEO and the location of his safe.
Dube led the robbers to the CEO’s offices on the second
floor, where they forced open the door and stole a Chubb safe with US$180 000
cash and an Acer laptop.
The robbers loaded the safe into the Hyundai stolen from
Dangarembizi and drove away.
They later dumped the two stolen vehicles at the Mazowe
Citrus kiosk along Harare-Bindura road. Dangarembizi lost US$227 250, R28 000
and two motor vehicles valued at US$10 000.
In South Africa, Abdul is thought to have been arrested
several times but released with the help of his police connections. Herald
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