Online Reporter
Mthokozisi Ncube
TWO armed robbers tied up a security guard before making off with more than US$7 500 in cash and valuables during a dramatic early morning raid at a Bulawayo fuel service station.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the incident, which occurred at around 3am on 24 July.
Sources told B-Metro that the 31-year-old security guard from Lobengula West was on patrol when he noticed one of two unknown suspects standing a few metres behind the garage. Believing the man was a security guard from a nearby property, he did not become suspicious.
As the guard entered the toilet, he heard footsteps outside. When he opened the door, the two suspects confronted him, one of whom was wearing a balaclava covering his nose and mouth.
The pair overpowered the guard, removed his shoelaces and used them to tie his hands and legs. They stripped him of his work vest, with one suspect putting it on before taking the guard’s pepper spray. The robbers blindfolded the guard with his scarf and bundled him into a Honda Fit vehicle that had been parked at the garage for safekeeping overnight.
The suspects drove the vehicle to the fuel pumps, leaving the guard inside while they targeted the service station offices.
The guard managed to free himself, escaped from the vehicle and fled while the robbers were inside the offices.
The suspects confronted four fuel attendants, stealing their cellphones, a black college bag containing groceries and US$1 816 in daily sales.
They also searched the company offices for more cash but found nothing.
Before leaving, the robbers forced one of the attendants to pump 30 litres of petrol worth US$60 into the Honda Fit before driving away.
The total value of property stolen was US$7 556, and none of it has been recovered.
Police investigations are continuing, and Insp Msebele has appealed to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects to report to the nearest police station.
