Villagers of Kondo village under Chief Nyajina in Uzumba on Sunday evening prevented an 18 member gang from robbing a fellow villager suspected to be in possession of huge amounts of cash in a botched attempt that led to the death of one the the gang members during the scuffle, while seven were captured and handed over to the police.
The other 10 fled and are at large.
The 18 are said to have plotted the heist on suspicion that their target aged 44 (name withheld) had cash as it is suspected that he is a gold buyer in the area.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police in a statement seen by 263Chat said the suspects were driving a Toyota Hiace and were wielding three unknown types of pistols, a bolt cutter and hammers.
Upon arrival at the complainant’s residence, the suspects purported that they were law enforcement agents from Murewa, but later changed their statement and said they were from Bindura and wanted to arrest illegal gold panners in Nyaguwe River.
The suspects then started to smash windows and fired shots at the complainant’s bedroom. The complainant fired back since he had a registered firearm.
Villagers were awakened by the noise and assisted the complainant to apprehend seven of the suspects and the other ten fled into the nearby mountain. One of the suspects died during the fight with the villagers.
Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi said police are seized with investigations to locate the remaining suspects.
“The Police will work flat out to ensure that all robbery suspects are accounted for and appeals to members of the public with information that may lead to the arrest of the outstanding suspects to contact their nearest police station or National Complaints Desk on ( 0242) 703631,” Nyathi said.
Armed robbery cases are on the rise in recent times and authorities have already increased awareness in various hot spot areas.
