Armed Robbers Pounce On Bulawayo Lodge, Get Away With US $9K

Armed robbers reportedly pounced on a lodge in Bulawayo and managed to get away with $9 000 belonging to an Ethiopean gold dealer and other valuables valued at $2 000. The Sunday News reports.

The incident was confirmed by Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube and said the robberies went on a robbing spree searching guests and robbing anyone who was on the premises. In the lengthy narrative of how the gang carried out the heist, Inspector Ncube said:

The security guard who doubles up as the night receptionist, had been told by the lodge owner to expect a client who wanted to book for the night. When the robbers, who were in an unmarked BMW, drove up to the lodge, the security guard opened the gate for them as he assumed that the client he had been told to expect had arrived.

The motor vehicle which had three occupants drove in and stopped before crossing the threshold of the gate. Two male adults wearing jeans, covering their mouths with some clothes got out of their motor vehicle armed with pistols and demanded to be led to Rooms Four and Five to see Ethiopian occupants who had booked in the said rooms.

Their first victims reportedly resisted and they locked themselves inside their room but the accused reportedly breached the door:

As they were passing Room One which is situated on the ground floor, the accused found the door unlocked and one of the accused forced himself into the room pointing the gun around. The occupants of the room, a male adult aged 33 and a male adult aged 34, of Imbizo 12, Kwekwe, resisted the attack by one of the accused prompting him to exit the room. The two occupants then locked themselves inside

The door was forced open using a fire extinguisher tank which was installed on the wall and the accused persons got inside. They demanded cash from the two complainants but failed to get any after body searches were done on them.

They went on to take two cellphones namely, a gold Mobicel R6, Nokia Android cellphones, two power banks and a cosmetic bag.

They then proceeded to rob other people in other rooms:

One of the accused persons got out of Room Four, leaving his accomplice holding the two complainants hostage. He then proceeded to Room Five where one of the complainants was booked. He used a fire extinguisher to break the door to gain entry and found a lady inside the room.

He demanded money but she indicated that she did not have any. He then searched the room and took some cash amounting to US$9 050 inside a blue bag that was in a wall fitted wardrobe belonging to one of the complainants.

As the robbers made their way downstairs, they ran into a guest that had come to check what the commotion was about. The two then reportedly bundled the guest into the same room with the Ethiopians and searched him at gunpoint, robbing him of US$580 and some personal documents.

At the lodge’s reception area, they stole a printer and three satellite decoders before driving off.

This comes barely a week after armed robbers pounced on a Bureau De Change and getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash. Armed robbery cases have been on the rise of late, Inspector Ncube urged people not to move around with large sums of cash.

More: The Sunday News