BY SILAS NKALA/ NIZBERT MOYO
ARMED robbers yesterday hijacked a Fawcett Security cash-in-transit delivery van in Bulawayo as it delivered cash at a CBZ Bank branch and drove away with the money before dumping the vehicle in Ilanda suburb.
The same robbers had earlier hijacked a Mercedes-Benz vehicle in Selbourne Park and used it as a getaway car.
Sources said that the Fawcett Security guards were outnumbered by the robbers, who got away with an unconfirmed amount of money and the security vehicle Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the robbery, but would not give further details.
“I can confirm that police are at the scene, but no details are yet available,” Msebele said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they had since launched a manhunt for the suspects.
Police sources, who declined to named, said the gang intercepted the Fawcett van along a sanitary lane as it was about to deliver an undisclosed amount of cash to the bank at corner Jason Moyo and 8th Avenue.
“The Fawcett guards were outnumbered and outgunned,” a police source said.
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Sources said in Ilanda, the gang also hijacked a pick-up truck after cleaning the Fawcett van of the cash.
In 2013, a Fawcett van delivering US$400 000 to Eastern Highlands Plantations in Manicaland province was robbed after four armed men rammed into it with a big truck.
Of late, the country has been experiencing a spate of armed robberies that resemble the South African style of robberies, an indication that there might have been massive smuggling of illegal firearms into the country, which also poses a serious security risk to citizens.
Robberies usually become rampant towards and during the festive season. l Follow NewsDay on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
