Gold miner robbed of US$2k
THREE armed robbers are on the run after they allegedly attacked a gold buyer from Matobo in the middle of the night and got away with US$2 000 and RTGS$2 000.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident which occurred on Monday at around 1am at Phakama Business Centre.
He said the suspects who were armed with a gun approached Mr Martin Wayne at his home at the business centre under the pretext of selling gold and when he refused to open the door, they slashed his car tyres thereby forcing him to confront them and they went on to rob him.
“I can confirm that we are investigating an armed robbery case which occurred at Phakama Business Centre in Matobo. The three suspects whose identity is not known approached Mr Martin Wayne at his home at around 1am, knocked on the door and indicated that they were selling gold.
“Mr Wayne refused to open for them and advised them to come back in the morning. Instead of leaving the suspects became violent and punctured the wheels of Mr Wayne’s two vehicles which were parked in the yard,’’ said Chief Insp Ndebele.
He said Mr Wayne went out to check and met the accused persons standing by the door and one was armed with a gun.
Chief Insp Ndebele said the suspects demanded cash from Mr Wayne and threatened to kill him if he did not comply.
He said they started assaulting Mr Wayne until he gave them US$1 000 which he had in his pocket. Chief Insp Ndebele said one of the suspects entered the house and demanded cash from Mr Wayne’s wife and threatened to assault her if she did not comply. He said the suspect took US$1 000 and RTGS$2 000 from the wardrobe and joined his friends who were outside and they fled from the scene.
Chief Insp Ndebele said the matter was reported to the police who attended the scene and Mr Wayne was taken to Mater dei Hospital for treatment. He appealed to members of the public to desist from storing large sums of money in their homes.
“As police we continue to urge people to desist from storing large sums of money in their homes as that puts them at risk of being robbed. Especially businesspeople, when people know that they handle large sums of money which they store in their homes they become a target of robbers. People shouldn’t put their lives at risk. We also appeal to anyone with information on the identity of the suspects or their whereabouts to contact any nearest police station,’’ he said_The Sunday News