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Nqobile Tshili/Judge Jarachara, Chronicle Reporters
FOUR armed robbers attacked and injured a security guard at Hamara Farm Produce market shop in Bulawayo’s Kelvin West industrial area and got away with more than US$2 300, R14 000 and $5 000.

Hours after the incident, robbers also pounced on an employee of an illegal money transfer agency and made off with an unconfirmed amount of money. The raid at Hamara Farm Produce that is situated near the Grain Marketing Board depot occurred on Thursday at 1am while the backyard money transfer agency employee was raided at about 6.30pm on the same day.

The two raids come at a time when police have raised alarm over increasing armed robberies in the country. Police Special teams have since been deployed to robbery hotspots across the country.

A source said the armed robbers who raided Hamara Farm Produce market shop attacked a security guard with a spanner before tying him with a rope. They then got into the shop through a window.

“Three of the suspects entered the shop while one remained guarding the security guard. They used a grinder to open a safe which contained US$2 336, R 14 011 and $5 079 and took all the money,” said the source. The robbers also stole a pepper spray and a Gtel cellphone belonging to the security guard. The guard was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital for treatment. Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the robbery at the Hamara shop.

“We are investigating the armed robbery case which occurred at Hamara Farm Produce shop where four men attacked a security guard and got away with US$2 336, R14 011 and $5 079. We are concerned with these robbery cases and we urge members of the public and businesses to desist from keeping large sums of money at their premises,” said Insp Ncube.

Meanwhile, the robbers who attacked an employee of the illegal money transfer agency along Fife Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue at about 6.30pm are said to have escaped using a Honda Fit. Illegal money transfer agencies have mushroomed across the city and most of them charge 10 percent of the total amount to send or receive money from mainly South Africa.

A Chronicle news crew yesterday visited the money transfer agency and a woman who runs it, Ms Sinothando Dewa said her daughter is the one who was attacked by the robbers.

The news crew observed that on her desk, there was substantial amount of money comprising US dollars and rand as she attended to clients. She said the incident occurred while her daughter was outside the shop waiting for her husband.

“We are renting this space so the shop owners had instructed everyone to leave since it was closing time. We were hoping to complete balancing our books at home as the shop closed before we could do it. I left my daughter outside the shop while she was waiting for her husband to come and pick her. So, I called her at about 6.37pm to check if she had been picked up.

as she answered the phone I heard her crying saying that she had been attacked by thieves who also took her bag which had cash. Since we had not balanced our books, we don’t know how much was stolen but it’s quite a huge amount,” said Ms Dewa. She said her daughter was rushed to hospital.

“They choked her and beat her, kicking her in the stomach after she fell. It’s very painful because this happened as members of the public were just watching and did not provide any help. We are told that the robbers escaped in a Honda Fit and they have not been caught,” she said.

Ms Dewa said apart from money transfer business, they also sell mealie meal.-@nqotshili/@jdgjarachara.