Zim cops seek SA bank robbers

By Stanley Gama

Harare – Police in Zimbabwe have launched a manhunt for four South African nationals believed to be behind a movie-style bank robbery 100km from Harare in which about R2 million was stolen on Tuesday.

Six heavily armed men stormed a Stanbic Bank in the farming town of Chegutu, shot and injured the branch manager before forcing him to open the bank’s vault, stole more than US$270 000 (about R2m) and sped away towards Harare in two vehicles.

Before leaving the bank, the gang stole cellphones and undisclosed amounts of cash from shocked customers. The apparent mastermind of the robbery, a Zimbabwean who is a branch manager at a rival bank, was arrested by a crack team of detectives from the country’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) homicide section.

A second Zimbabwean in the robbery was arrested, but the South Africans are believed to have immediately boarded buses to South Africa with their share of the loot. Only about US$60 000 (R444 000) is believed to have been recovered from the Zimbabweans.

Although police in Harare are still keeping tight-lipped about the case, it is understood that the apparent mastermind of the robbery had revealed that he had hired the four South Africans to carry out the spectacular heist.

A police source said: “Two suspects, including the mastermind, have been arrested and they have implicated four South Africans, who, after fleeing Chegutu, immediately boarded a bus to South Africa. We believe they boarded the bus as a decoy and used other means of transport to flee back to South Africa.

We have informed our colleagues in South Africa, and hopefully arrests will be made soon.” The robbers were apparently given away by the registration number of one of the getaway vehicles owned by the Zimbabwean mastermind, who, according to police, drove his own vehicle to and from the scene of the robbery.

The robbers apparently forgot to remove the front registration plates, leading to the arrest of the Zimbabwean suspect. Police were still to explain how the robbers went through at least three police checkpoints on their way to Harare after the robbery. SA Star