Highway robberies on the rise

yesterday said no arrests had been made and investigations were under way.

He said, in the first incident, a 33-year-old man lost US$78 cash and groceries to four armed men who offered him a lift to Mazowe from the city centre on Sunday afternoon.

“The victim was offered a lift near NSSA building by the robbers, who were travelling in an Isuzu double cab to Mazowe,” said Insp Chibanda. When they got to Emerald Hill area, Insp Chibanda said, the gang manhandled the victim before stealing the cash and the goods, leaving him stranded.

Early Sunday morning, a 47-year-old man lost a Nokia cellphone, computer accessories and US$6 cash to three armed robbers who offered him a lift to Mount Pleasant from NSSA Building. The robbers, who were travelling in a Toyota Raum, robbed the man near Ashbrittle Shopping Centre.
In another incident, a 26-year-old Kuwadzana man believed to be a cross-border trader lost goods worth over R6 000 to three armed robbers, one of them a woman, who were travelling in a taxi, a Toyota Vitz, near the Kuwadzana round about.

The victim was offered a lift from Road Port Bus terminus and on approaching the round about, one of the robbers alleged that he wanted to drop some goods at a nearby house in Kuwadzana.

They drove along Mukonono Road where the victim was later pulled out of the vehicle and the robbers disappeared with his goods and groceries. The victim reported the matter to the police and investigations are still in progress. Insp Chibanda urged people to use public transport to avoid being robbed.

However, some robbers were also using kombis to ambush their prey. Last month, police arrested 10 suspected armed robbers allegedly targeting travellers and motorists along the country’s highways. The suspects were arrested in separate incidents in Chinhoyi and Murehwa. Six were arrested in Murehwa while the other four in Chinhoyi.

The arrests led to the recovery of five vehicles, two in Chinhoyi and three in Murehwa, which the two gangs used in the commission of the offences.

The police crack team swooped on the 10 following reports of both gangs’ tactics and the type of vehicles they used.

According to statistics, a total of 156 armed robberies were recorded last year in Harare province alone, prompting the police to carry out crime awareness campaigns this year.

Some criminals were offering lifts to unsuspecting passengers while others were pretending to be passengers also before robbing the victims of their vehicles, valuables and cash.