admin
Freeman Razemba
Crime Reporter
The year 2022 saw an increase in robberies as criminals targeted individuals, businesspeople and organisations who kept large sums of cash on their premises.
Churches, service stations and banks also became regular targets for the perpetrators of gun-related crimes resulting in the loss of millions of dollars.
Some of the cases were, however, inside jobs.
In most cases the victims were held hostage and tortured while others killed by the robbers who were looking for cash. Some of the robbers were arrested while others are still on the run.
According to police statistics, between January to September last year, general crime increased from 283 973 cases to 301 719 when compared with the same period last year.
Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga said cases of armed robbery involving large sums of money were now a cause of concern and challenged police officers to come up with strategies and measures to curb such activities.
He confirmed that violent crimes such as armed robbery and murder were also on the rise.
This he said instilled a sense of fear and despair among the populace.
In October last year, police opened full-scale investigations into an armed robbery that occurred at ABC Auctions along Seke Road in Harare, where four cheeky robbers got away with a staggering US$1,4 million.
The robbery occurred on a Saturday at around 0130 hours. It was believed the four suspects, who remain unknown but were armed with four unidentified pistols, attacked two security guards who were on duty at the premises.
They tied the security guards with shoelaces and put them under the guard of two suspects while the other two proceeded to the company offices, where they blasted five safes and stole cash and property worth US$1 400 000.
Police suspect the robbers had inside information, making it easy for them to attack the company.
In December, a gang of 12 armed robbers also raided a service station in Kwekwe and stole almost US$600 000 and R58 430.
The robbers, who were armed with a pistol and an AK47 assault rifle, attacked two security guards manning the premises before tying their hands and legs with shoe laces.
They then stole a Dewalt drilling machine, US$582 540 and R58 430 cash found in a table drawer and a Chubb safe.
Police are still looking for the suspects.
Recently, police in Bulawayo linked armed robbers who raided a cash-in-transit vehicle transporting nearly 12kilogrammes of gold worth US$675 000 from How Mine to Fidelity Printers and Refiners to four other armed robberies in the city.
Thirteen suspects raided a Securico Security Company cash-in-transit van which was transporting the gold from How Mine to Fidelity Printers in the city in November.
Police arrested three of the 13 suspects.
The gang had been fingered in heists at two financial institutions, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler and a grocery shop between May and October. In total, the gangsters stole US$858 000 and R508 000 in five raids within four months.
Cops then released photos of nine of the armed suspects in the How Mine attack who are on the run.
A reward of US$5 000 was offered for anyone who provide law enforcement agents with details that would lead to the arrest of the suspects.
In December again, three armed robbers attacked a security guard at a college in Seke, Chitungwiza before stealing fuel coupons worth thousands of United States Dollars and US$43 100 in cash.
The three robbers were armed with pistols when they raided the college around 1am. Investigations revealed that the robbers first attacked a security guard manning the premise before breaking into the administration block, where they blasted a safe and the fuel coupons and cash.
On the same day, police in Ruwa arrested Admire Mazenge (25) and Peacemaker Samson (26) in connection with a robbery case in which they allegedly attacked a security guard who was on duty at a premise in Goromonzi at around 3am.
The suspects stole agrochemicals, solar lights, 75kgs of fertiliser, two knapsacks, three cell phones and US$60 cash, all valued at US$2 500.
Police recovered some of the stolen goods, worth US$1 000, from the suspects.
In March, a manhunt was launched for robbers who broke into Lobel’s Biscuits offices in Bulawayo and got away with over 16 million rand and about US$80 000.
The incident occurred at Lobel’s Biscuits, Belmont in Bulawayo, where unknown suspects broke into the company offices and proceeded to the accounts office where they broke a safe and stole cash amounting to US$79 819, R16 739 950, Pula 950, $110 266 and an HP 250GB Laptop.
In May, seven armed robbers stormed a fuel company in Harare and escaped with more than US$380 000 in cash.
The incident occurred at ZX Fuels in Southerton where they blasted a safe and stole US$2 316, $11 551 before blasting another office with a bulletproof glass and stole again Mozambique road toll books worth US$55 075 and a safe containing US$378 057.
Other five robbers broke into a business premise in Avondale and attacked the security guard before getting away with US$136 712 cash and other valuables in February last year.
Six armed robbers stormed KFC Msasa branch in January and got away with US$50 000 after attacking a security guard manning the premise.
The incident occurred at around 1 am and the robbers were armed with unidentified pistols while covering their faces with balaclava masks.
A private company located along Seke Road in Harare also lost over US$100 000 to armed robbers.
The robbers broke into the company offices and stole US$99 971, R15 080 and $20 080 cash which was in the Chubb safe.
Nearly 19 000 cases of robbery and over 3 500 murders were recorded in Zimbabwe between January 2020 and December 2021, official statistics show.
Data obtained from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) shows there were 9 364 cases of robbery (931 armed) in 2020, while 9 515 similar cases (1 120 armed) were recorded in 2021.
This translates to an average of 25 cases of robbery occurring daily.
Police also handled 917 cases of illegal firearms possession over the same period, with 472 cases being recorded in 2020, while there were 445 in 2021.
In addition, there were 1 614 murder cases reported in 2020, a figure that rose sharply to 1 969 in the following year, official data shows.
Zimbabwe has recorded an upsurge in violent crimes in recent years, prompting police to set up a specialised taskforce to deal with rising violent criminal activity.
Online Reporter