US$1,2 million cash seized as armed robbers pounce on bank, mine
Police launch hunt for unidentified criminals
By Staff Reporter
Armed robbers pounced on a Mt Darwin bank and a mine outside Bulawayo, making off with a total US$1,2 million plus some gold in two separate incidents which happened on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the first incident, three unidentified suspects, who were armed with pistols, struck at Old Nick mine offices and attacked three people who were manning the premises.
“The suspects stole US$520,000 and two cell phones,” police said Thursday, while promising to provide further details.
In the second incident that happened on Thursday, police confirmed they were investigating another armed robbery case which occurred at a Bank in Mt Darwin CBD at 2am.
“Three unknown suspects, armed with pistols, pounced on the bank, attacked the security guard who was on duty at the premises and then broke into the bank, where they blasted open a safe and stole approximately US$700,000 and 2.4 kilogrammes of gold,” police said.
The two incidents follow numerous cases in which armed criminals have been targeting homes and company premises in different parts of the country, making off with millions of dollars in cash.
A lot of Zimbabweans businesses and households now prefer to keep their revenue and savings in their vaults and bedrooms as the country’s banking system has, in the past two decades, been unpredictable due to frequent currency changes and policy summersaults by government, coupled with hefty charges levied on withdrawals.
