Two motorists recently lost US$27 300, a car and other valuables to armed robbers who staged fake road traffic accidents and waylaid them.
The robbers were travelling in a Honda Fit which they used to ram into the back of other vehicles and they would stop thinking its a genuine accident.
Thereafter, the robbers would pounce on the motorists and steal cash and valuables. A manhunt has since been launched to bring the robbers to justice.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said, “Police in Harare are investigating two separate incidents in which the suspects, who were travelling in a Honda Fit vehicle, stage-managed road traffic accidents before stealing valuables and cash from victims,” he said.
In one of the incidents, a motorist travelling in a Toyota Mark X was hit from behind by a Honda Fit on Tuesday at the intersection of Hurtsview Drive and Lantana way in Ridgeview. Three robbers who were armed with a hammer then attacked the motorist before stealing the vehicle.
In another robbery which occurred along Derby Road in Avondale, Harare on Monday at around 9:30pm , a motorist lost US$ 27 300 after the vehicle he was driving was hit from behind by a Honda Fit vehicle.
Armed robbery cases have been on the increase countrywide prompting police to activate their crack teams countrywide.
In most cases, the robbers target individuals and companies keeping large sums of money.
More than 2 200 robbers were convicted by the courts last year alone while over 700 more are still undergoing trial as the National Prosecuting Authority continues to prioritise the prosecution of robbery cases.
According to the end-of-year preliminary statistics from the NPA, 2 239 robbers were convicted, 721 for armed robberies and 1 518 for basic robberies with 717 cases still pending as at the end of the year.
Robbery is when force or the threat of force is used to steal, with the distinction between armed robbery and basic robbery lying in the presence of a weapon; basic robbery can be based on the threat of force or harm without the use of a weapon.
Robbers are overwhelmingly men, with only two females having been convicted of armed robbery and 17 of basic robbery.
Harare and Bulawayo Metropolitan provinces topped the list of convictions with 412 male armed robbers and two females having been convicted in the capital while 189 males were convicted in the second capital city.
Matabeleland North had the least number of convictions with only two having been found guilty of armed robbery while Mashonaland Central came second with just four convictions.
