Two Harare firms lose US$16 700 to robbers

Primrose Zimano-Herald Correspondent 

TWO Harare companies lost a combined US$16 700 to unknown robbers in two consecutive days, as cases of robberies targeting companies and homes continue to rise.

In the first incident, four unknown male suspects putting on black face masks and gloves and armed with a pistol pounced on a company based in Avondale, Harare, attacked a security guard before breaking three safes, stole US$11 300 and fled.

In a statement yesterday, police confirmed investigations were underway. The robbery occurred at a company along Churchill Road on Tuesday.

“The suspects locked the victim in one of the offices and they went away, said the police.

In the second incident on Wednesday, 15 unidentified male suspects who were wearing face masks pounced on a service station in Southlea Park along Simon Mazorodze Road and attacked two fuel attendants around 1am, before entering a shop where they also attacked six occupants who were sleeping. 

“The suspects then blasted a safe and stole US$5 400 cash. Anyone with information to report at any nearest police station,” said the police.

Police in Southlea Park, Harare, are now investigating the case of robbery.

Cases where robbers have been pouncing on homes and businesses and getting away with large sums of cash are on the rise.

The police have been urging businesses and families not to keep huge sums of money at home, but to use the formal banking system to avoid incidences of robbery.

But with some companies and individuals now treating money as a commodity that they can sell on the parallel market for a profit, the drive to open bank accounts and deposit money has been fading, but at the risk of being attacked by robbers.

Police has established that some of the cases have been internally engineered mainly by security guards and domestic workers, who sell out information to robbers.