Three armed robbers originally from Chief Mkoka in Gokwe have been slapped with a combined 51-year jail term.
The trio is Jabson Shonhe (39) and Freddy Ginotry Chibwana (28), together with Samuel Moyo (29) from the same area were found guilty of having robbing passengers of a Smart Express on December 17 in Beitbridge. Moyo was, however, not part of the gang that attacked the bus.
Shonhe is a South African-based haulage truck driver who was the alleged gang leader. He was found in possession of a Smith and Wesson revolver which was used during the Smart Express Bus robbery.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Charity Charamba said that passengers should be wary during their travels. She said:
They can also have passenger manifests, desist from carrying passengers who want to drop on the way if it is a long distance bus. They must be wary of suspicious passengers asking to relieve themselves in strange locations.
Bus crews should ask for passports from cross-border travellers and report passengers without documentation to police manning roadblocks along the way.