According
to
an
internal
police
memo,
the
robbers
first
targeted
two
Fawcetts
Security
guards
who
were
on
rapid
response
duties
and
had
parked
their
branded
Isuzu
KB250
in
the
town
centre.
Reads
the
memo:
The
armed
robbers
first
targeted
two
Fawcett
Security
guards
that
were
on
rapid
response
duty
and
had
parked
their
branded
Isuzu
KB250
in
the
town
centre.
Two
of
the
armed
robbers
that
were
wearing
balaclavas
approached
the
two
security
guards
on
either
side
of
the
car,
and
ordered
them
to
open
the
car
doors
at
gun
point.The
guards
were
then
force
marched
to
the
back
of
the
van,
where
they
were
shoved
into
the
cash
compartment
with
their
hands
tied
to
their
back
with
cables.
Police
said
the
two
robbers
drove
the
van
to
an
unknown
location
where
more
men,
at
least
three,
jumped
into
the
van
armed
with
an
assortment
of
tools
including
grinders,
hammers,
torches
and
iron
bars.
The
robbers,
according
to
police,
forced
the
Fawcetts
guards
to
hand
over
their
jackets
and
caps.
Two
robbers
occupying
the
front
seat
then
dressed
themselves
as
Fawcetts
guards.
The
gang
drove
to
the
Fawcetts
depot
at
1530
Gaza
O
Light
Industry,
where
some
local
businesses
keep
their
money
overnight
before
banking.
Reads
the
memo:
Upon
arrival
at
the
office
main
gate,
the
accused
persons
managed
to
deceive
a
guard
who
was
manning
the
entrance
to
open
for
them.The
accused
persons
entered
the
yard
and
when
the
guard
was
closing
the
gate,
two
of
the
robbers
jumped
from
the
motor
vehicle
and
manhandled
him
and
force
marched
him
towards
the
offices
with
both
of
his
hands
tied
with
cable
ties
from
the
back.
The
Fawcetts
guard
was
disarmed
of
his
Rossi
revolver,
while
a
second
guard
conducting
perimeter
checks
was
stripped
of
his
shotgun.
According
to
the
police,
the
robbers
proceeded
to
damage
all
exterior
security
lights,
break
the
manager’s
office
window,
and
disconnect
the
power
supply
to
the
alarm
system.
They
also
cut
the
output
cable
to
the
siren.
Inside
the
control
room,
the
robbers
quickly
overpowered
another
guard
monitoring
the
CCTV
and
disarmed
him
of
his
revolver.
With
all
guards
accounted
for,
the
robbers
used
a
grinder
to
open
a
Chubb
door
leading
to
the
vault,
which
contained
six
cash
boxes.
They
took
turns
breaking
the
padlocks
on
each
of
the
metal
cash
boxes
and
emptied
them
of
cash,
loading
the
loot
into
the
Fawcetts
vehicle.
Police
said:
The
robbers
then
bundled
all
the
Fawcetts
guards
into
the
cash
compartment
of
the
van
and
drove
off
to
a
bushy
area
at
Mooilsplas
Farm,
6km
north
of
Chipinge,
where
they
dumped
the
guards
and
the
motor
vehicle.
One
of
the
guards
eventually
managed
to
free
himself
and
called
for
help.
Police
later
recovered
the
Isuzu
keys,
which
had
been
discarded
along
with
the
Fawcetts
uniforms,
54
km
from
Chipinge
on
the
road
to
Birchenough.
The
three
firearms
taken
from
the
guards
were
discovered
abandoned
in
the
yard
of
the
Fawcetts
establishment.
In
total,
the
robbers
stole
cash
amounting
to
US$111,411
and
R1,281,320.
Post
published
in:
Featured