In a brazen midday heist, armed robbers stormed Old Nic Mine in Killarney, Bulawayo, on Wednesday, making off with over half-a-million United States dollars. The audacious raid has prompted a police investigation and raised concerns about security at mining operations in the region.
According to reports, the incident occurred shortly before 1PM when three armed men approached a security guard while he was on patrol. The trio pointed a gun at the guard before disarming him of his firearm.
A mine worker recounted that the suspects then manhandled the guard before tying him up with tie cables and shoving him under a white Honda Fit stationed in the parking lot.
The robbers then targeted the mine’s offices. “They got into the offices through the west-facing door and went straight to an office where they found two staff members. There, they again produced guns and demanded cash,” said a witness.
The robbers are reported to have cut open the fence securing the offices using a cutter and gained entry into the yard.
One of the robbers went straight to the desk safe, taking US$20,000 and keys with a panic button. The three suspects then demanded keys to the main safe and ordered one of the two staffers to unlock it.
After opening the safe, one of the suspects is reported to have taken cash amounting to US$523,076 and loaded it into a blue sling bag. They also stole one of the staff members’ mobile phones before fleeing on foot.
The total value stolen is US$543,076, and nothing has been recovered.
Soon after their escape, the two staff members alerted other workers before a police report was made. Detectives from CID Homicide, the ZRP Canine Unit, and other police officers are reported to have attended the scene.
Police are currently investigating the incident.
Sources from the mine at the time said the robbery occurred around midday. They said there was a shootout between the robbers and the security guards. The robbers used a Nissan March, a Toyota GD6, and a Nissan Hardbody to carry out the heist.
Following the How Mine robbery, police managed to track and arrest three of the suspects in Douglasdale, Bulawayo, hardly 24 hours after the heist. One of the suspects was arrested in Beitbridge while attempting to flee to South Africa.
The latest robbery at Old Nic Mine has raised concerns about the vulnerability of mining operations to armed criminals and the need for improved security measures to protect assets and personnel.
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