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By Elvis Dumba
Banket – Police are on the hunt for suspected armed robbers who got away with £2000 from Trek and Zuva Service Stations in Banket.
Suspected five males accompanied by a lady reportedly pounced on the two adjacent fuel stations in the Banket CBD area on Wednesday at midnight.
Information gathered during a visit to the scene suggests that the armed robbers were driving a white Toyota Wish registration number AFH8133. An unregistered Honda Fit pounced on Randson Mwadiwa, a fuel attendant at Zuva Station as he was on his way home after knocking off.
They bundled him into the car, tied his hands with shoelaces, blindfolded him and took away US$100 from him, and drove a few kilometers towards Harare where another vehicle was parked around 200hrs.
Both vehicles drove back to Zuva Service Station after some minutes after they received a call that said they were now on the scene. One of the robbers forced Mwadiwa out of the vehicle and removed the blindfold and forced him to open the office where they took away 60 litres of fuel in containers.
They dragged him towards nearby Trek Service Station where they disarmed a Guard Alert security guard who had come to investigate what was taking place. During the melee, Mwadiwa managed to free himself and ran away with one of the robbers instructing the one with a rifle to shoot him. Mwadiwa headed to make a report to the local police at 1245 pm.
Some of the robbers demanded to be shown the safe and using a hammer, they forced it open. Whilst they were busy with the safe, a local businessman, Passmore Simbi, arrived at Trek Service Station expecting to buy fuel for his vehicle unaware of the robbery taking place. He was forced out of his vehicle by some of the robbers making surveillance and told to lie on the ground where he was. Robbers took US$40 and a personal CZ pistol from him.
The robbers managed to get away with €2000 in cash and nearly £100, in coupon fuels and drove off.
Police from Banket Police Station, about two kilometers from the robbery scene who had to solicit transport from well-wishers arrived at the scene moments after the robbers had sped off.
National Police Spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was not in the office and was yet to receive full details of the incident when contacted for a comment.
