BULAWAYO – An armed gang of six men went on a crime spree in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, breaking into three supermarkets in the early hours of Wednesday morning and assaulting security guards as they moved from one target to the next.
The robbers, who were armed with a pistol, crowbars, axes and a grinder, escaped with US$1 681, R1 500, ZWG 560 and three bottles of whiskey. They remain at large, while police investigate the coordinated raids and appeal for information that could lead to their arrest.
The first attack took place at about 1AM at TM Pick n Pay in Cowdray Park. The gang confronted the security guard on duty, assaulted him and tied his hands with a cable tie. He was then forced to lie on the ground while the robbers turned their attention to the supermarket’s security systems and entrance.
The gang damaged an external closed-circuit television camera with an iron bar before using a bolt cutter to cut the locks securing the main entrance door. Once inside, the men went to an office where a safe was kept and tried to force it open.
Their attempt failed. They used a pick, grinder, chisel and hammer on the safe but could not break into it. Instead of abandoning the operation, the gang moved on to another supermarket in the same suburb, taking the first guard with them.
At the second supermarket, the robbers pointed a firearm at a 64-year-old security guard and assaulted him. They tied his hands with a cable tie and force-marched him to the place where the first guard was being held. The two guards were kept together as the gang prepared to attack a third supermarket.
The next target was also in Cowdray Park. A third security guard heard the sound of a grinder working and went to investigate. He encountered two of the armed men, who assaulted him before dragging him to where the other two guards were being held.
With all three guards restrained, two members of the gang broke the padlocks securing the third supermarket’s main door and gained entry. They made their way to the manager’s office, where they found cash in different currencies. The robbers took US$1 681, R1 500 and ZWG 560, as well as three bottles of whiskey, before fleeing from the scene.
Bulawayo police acting spokesperson Assistant Inspector Thandekile Ndlovu confirmed the sequence of events and said investigations were under way. She said the suspects used an unidentified pistol during the attacks and a range of tools to force their way into the businesses.
The raids left the three security guards facing the gang one after another during a sustained overnight operation. The robbers first neutralised the guard at Pick n Pay, then took control of a second guard before confronting the third man after he heard the grinder. The use of cable ties, cutting equipment and tools used to attack the safe pointed to a gang that had arrived prepared to overcome security staff and physical barriers.
Police have appealed to anyone who may have information about the six suspects to report at the nearest police station. Investigators are expected to examine the damaged CCTV equipment, the locks and padlocks broken during the break-ins, as well as the tools and movements used during the operation.
The Cowdray Park supermarket raids come as police and the courts continue dealing with a separate series of violent robberies reported in Bulawayo suburbs. In a case heard in court in August, four men faced seven counts of armed robbery linked to attacks on homes and a tuck shop in Old Luveve, Nkulumane, Cowdray Park and Mahatshula.
The court heard that the earlier group moved between several homes during overnight raids. Two Cowdray Park households were among the places targeted. In one incident, the robbers entered a home and demanded money from a woman, taking US$203 and mobile phones. In another, they found a 28-year-old man asleep, broke into the house and took US$1 805 kept inside a wardrobe.
The same group was also linked in court to attacks in Old Luveve, where residents were threatened, assaulted and robbed of cash and phones. The State said the gang later targeted a tuck shop, taking US$1 000 and R15 000, before allegedly carrying out another house raid in which US$9 100 was stolen.
Witnesses in that matter told the court that the attackers concealed their faces and assaulted victims who tried to look at them. One witness said he was slapped and ordered not to scream, while another described one of the men as wearing a balaclava and said others had covered their faces with hats.
The cases have brought renewed attention to the risks faced by security guards and residents during late-night robberies. In the latest Cowdray Park incident, the guards were not only threatened but assaulted, tied up and moved between the supermarkets as the gang continued searching for cash.
Police are now pursuing the six men responsible for the supermarket break-ins. Anyone with information about the suspects, the pistol and tools used, or property taken during the raids is urged to contact the nearest police station.