National police
spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the two cases, saying in one of
the cases, where armed robbers pounced at a micro finance institution, police
suspect the robbers, six in number, had inside information.
“The six armed
robbers attacked the branch manager, employees and some customers at the
microfinance institution. They first tampered with the Closed Circuit
Television (CCTV), which to us is an indication of inside information,” said
Comm Nyathi.
He said the
heist took place around 10am.
“The robbers
went away with US$7 272 and
investigations to account for the suspects have been set in motion,” said Comm
Nyathi.
He said in the
second incident that occurred at a flat in town around 5pm, the four armed
robbers went away with cash amounting to US$25 234, fuel coupons and a driver’s
licence.
Comm Nyathi
said the victim runs a cosmetic shop in the city
“The victim’s
employee knocked off from work and took the day’s takings to the victim’s place
of residence at the corner of Fort Street and 3rd Avenue. On arriving at the
residence, she was attacked by four suspects,” said Comm Nyathi.
He said they
took away US$1 800 from the employee, which was the day’s takings, which she
intended to hand over to her employer.
Comm Nyathi
said they ransacked the house looking for more cash.
“All in all,
they went away with US$25 234. We are appealing to members of the public who
may have any information regards the identity of the suspects to report it to
the nearest police station. Police are also investigating the incident,” said
Comm Nyathi.
Early this
month, three armed robbers staged a daring daylight heist at a bureau de change
in Bulawayo’s central business district and got away with more than US$18 000
and R151 000 after disarming a security
guard.
Police described the robbery as a highly co-ordinated operation, pointing to the possibility of an inside job.
The robbery
occurred around 8am at Nkolozi Investments, located on the first floor of the
CIPF Building at the corner of Jason Moyo Street and 9th Avenue.
The three
suspects walked into the complex and made their way to the bureau de change,
pretending to be customers. They then unleashed a short reign of terror,
attacking the guard and seizing his firearm.
The suspects
demanded access to the safes and a remote key, before tampering with the CCTV
system and erasing footage from that morning. They also took the employees’
cellphones and cash before fleeing the scene.
Police have
repeatedly raised concern over the growing menace of armed robberies, often
targeting banks, businesses, forex dealers and individuals keeping large sums
of money in their homes.
Zimbabwe has in
recent years recorded several high-profile robberies, the most infamous one
being the US$4 million Ecobank heist, which occurred in October last year in
Bulawayo as the money was being transferred from the bank to a security van.
The robbery is Zimbabwe’s biggest cash heist in years and some of the suspects
have been accounted for. Sunday News
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