BURGLARS broke into Nedbank Belmont Branch in Bulawayo, forced open safes and got away with over US$270 000 and R2 Million over the weekend.
The burglary was discovered by Nedbank employees on Monday morning when they reported for work, according to National Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
He said investigations are on course and they suspect that this was an inside job.
“We are not ruling out the possibility of inside information to the criminals so we are conducting investigations. There was a security guard who was on duty and we were of the view of finding out what actually transpired.
“In this case, it’s a puzzle that the police are trying to work on, remember there was a guard on duty there are alarm systems and we are trying to find out what actually happened. They tampered with the alarm system,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
He said the bank staff found out about the missing cash when they reported to work on Monday.
“This case occurred at Nedbank Belmont, where on August 28, 2023, the bank staff when they reported for duty, they discovered that the back door of the bank had been vandalised and opened.
“During the process, they made checks and they discovered that the razor wire that is mounted on the precast wall to the premises had been cut and the screen door that leads to the bank had been tampered with and some windows had been forced open and some burglar bars had been cut,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
He said the unknown suspects tampered with the communication system and they then opened three safes.
“One safe contained USDs, the other Zim dollars and the other South African Rands.
They took the USDs and South African Rands and left the Zim Dollars. US$271 500 and R2 242 000,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
Meanwhile, Nedbank has temporarily Closed the Belmont Branch following the robbery.
In a notice dated 28 August, the bank wrote: ”Valued Client we advise that our Belmont Branch is temporarily closed until further notice. To this end, all clients may visit our Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Branch and ATM or use the following digital platforms for your banking convenience:- Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, and Point of Sale Platforms…”
