Police in the Midlands province is concerned over a spike in armed robbery cases recently.
Midlands police spokesperson, Inspector Joel Goko said that there has been an upsurge in cases of people being robbed of cash and other possessions, with money changers, gold dealers and business people who carry huge sums of money being the main targets. Said Inspector Goko:
They pounce on money changers as they know that they carry loads of cash on them.
As a mining province, gold dealers were also being targeted lately.
We, therefore, urge people not to keep money in homes or carry huge amounts of cash on them to avoid such mishaps.
Inspector Goko confirmed a case where 15 suspected robbers attacked a gold dealer and got away with US$37 000 recently. He said:
The masked robbers shot dogs at Elliot Chihwende’s house in Kwekwe and tortured his wife who was at home during the time before they got away with US$37 000.
Five of the robbers have since been arrested and are assisting police with investigations.