Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
A DARING robbery occurred at Genesis Service Station in Dangamvura suburb early yesterday morning, with four armed robbers making off with US$2 350 and a motor vehicle.
The gang, armed with an unknown rifle, iron bar, hacksaw, and mattock hammer, and wearing balaclavas to conceal their faces, struck around 2am.
They fired a shot into the air to intimidate two employees, who attempted to resist their demands.
After failing to obtain the safe keys from one of the employees, the robbers used unknown explosives to blast open a wall-mounted safe.
Security guard Nevermind Bhasera was ordered to lie down and had his hands tied behind his back.
The robbers then smashed the passenger-side window of a Nissan Sunny Box after Kevin Gwaramba refused to hand over the car keys. They used hotwiring to start the vehicle, but it ran out of fuel just 20 metres from the scene, prompting the armed criminals to abandon it and flee on foot.
Acting Manicaland police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the incident.
“After entering the office, the suspects demanded safe keys from Bhasera, but he did not have them. One of the suspects took him to the attendance room and kept him under guard. The other three accused persons used an unknown explosive to blast open the safe mounted on the wall.
“They stole US$2 350 in cash and proceeded to where Gwaramba was seated in the car. One of the accused persons ordered him to surrender the car keys, but he told them he did not have them. Upon realizing he was not complying with their orders, they smashed the front passenger’s windscreen. They assaulted him with clenched fists, and he managed to escape and ran away. One suspect fired a shot into the air,” he said.
The police were alerted to the incident after an officer based at Dangamvura Base, approximately 150 metres from the crime scene, heard the blast and notified his colleagues at Dangamvura Police Station.
Assistant Inspector Chinyoka appealed to the public for information leading to the arrest of the suspects, urging anyone with information to report to their nearest police station.
