BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA
POLICE have arrested eight more suspects in connection with the US$2,7 million cash-in-transit robbery which occurred at Gwebi River bridge along the Harare-Chinhoyi Highway last week.
The eight allegedly connived with three ZB Bank employees to steal the cash. The bank employees have already been arrested.
After stealing the money, which was on its way to be distributed at the bank’s several branches, the gang allegedly shared the loot among themselves.
Some of the gang members went on to purchase vehicles using the stolen cash, but the police recovered the cars, as well as US$456 000.
The gangsters Gerald Rutizirira, Kelvin Masakwa, Tendai Zuze, Neverson Mwamuka, Trymore Chapfika, Terrence Marimba, Charles and Leo Chirara who are brothers, appeared before magistrate Judith Taruvinga yesterday and were not asked to plead.
They were remanded in custody to January 17, 2021.
It is the State’s case that on January 6, 2021 the gang connived with ZB employees to rob a ZB cash-in transit crew.
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They organised get away vehicles and armed themselves with guns.
Fanuel Musakwa, a ZB employee, was in the cash-in-transit vehicle and communicated with other accomplices, who they picked along the way, according to the plan.
Musakwa and his crew were travelling from Harare to Chinhoyi with boxes stashed with US$2 775 000.
Along the way, the cash-in-transit crew took one box containing $43 090 at Inkomo tollgate and drove off towards Chinhoyi.
They picked their accomplices as passengers along the way.
When they arrived at the 60km peg along the Harare-Chinhoyi Highway, one of the accomplices pretended that he had reached his destination and asked the driver to stop.
The driver stopped the car and the other accomplices in the motor vehicle disembarked and produced a pistol, and threatened to shoot the cash-in transit crew.
The other accomplices who were trailing behind the ZB Bank vehicle in their own vehicles immediately arrived at the scene.
They produced firearms and disarmed the ZB Bank crew members, tied them together at the back of the vehicle and drove away from the highway to a secluded spot, where they offloaded the boxes.
The accused then proceeded to some farm west of Nyabira, where they broke the cash boxes and shared the loot among themselves. Police investigations are still underway.
