The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has said the armed robbery at the Ecobank Parkade Branch in Bulawayo on Thursday afternoon might have involved an inside job or a leak of information.

In a press statement yesterday, ZRP spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that six suspects were involved in the heist, during which approximately US$4 million was stolen. He said:

The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that investigations are in full swing in connection with an alleged armed robbery case which occurred late this afternoon on 03rd October 2024 at a financial institution at corner 9th Avenue and Fife Street, Bulawayo when a cash in transit security team was approached by six suspects.

Initial indications are that USD 4 000 000.00 cash has been stolen. The manner in which this incident occurred show an element of inside job or leakage of information.

As investigations intensify the Police assures the public that the law will certainly take course without fear or favour.

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Meanwhile, members of the public with information on the incident are free to contact National Complaints Desk number, (0242) 703631 or WhatsApp number, 0712 800 197 or report at any nearest Police Station.

Meanwhile, ZimLive reported a law enforcement source as saying Elijah Vumbunu, one of Zimbabwe’s seven most wanted criminals from a notorious crime family, has emerged as a prime suspect in the armed robbery.

Vumbunu is wanted for a string of high-profile armed robberies, including the October 2022 heist where a How Mine convoy carrying 11.9kg of gold was ambushed near Bulawayo.

Although several suspects were arrested, Elijah and his brothers Abraham and Tonderai Vumbunu escaped and are believed to be living in South Africa, where they plan and execute robberies in Zimbabwe.

According to ZimLive, investigations have revealed that the getaway car, a white Ford Ranger single cab with the number plate AGP2333, was actually registered to a Mazda Demio.

Crime scene footage shows a uniformed police officer walking past the scene across the street in the direction of the Bulawayo Central Police Station.

In Zimbabwe, police officers do not carry guns except when responding to robberies and violent scenes.

A man who claimed to be a bank manager was quoted as saying the stolen amount was closer to US$5 million, and that a client was banking US$100,000 at the time of the robbery.

The stolen cash was allegedly being transported from the Ecobank branch, located on the ground floor of the NRZ Building, Bulawayo’s tallest structure.

Witnesses described how the robbers waited for the Safeguard security guards to load the money into their truck before appearing on the driver and passenger side windows with guns drawn.

The security guards were then disarmed and forced into the back of their truck, as the robbers seized cash boxes loaded with cash.

The Ecobank/Safeguard heist is considered one of the largest cash heists in Zimbabwe’s history, surpassing the 2021 Gwebi River Bridge cash-in-transit robbery, where US$2.7 million was stolen.

In the Gwebi River Bridge cash-in-transit robbery, a bank employee was later arrested and jailed along with his accomplices after police discovered that he had masterminded the robbery.

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