By Nqobile Tshili| About 12 armed robbers raided a meat wholesale company in Belmont yesterday and got away with an undisclosed amount of money after attacking two security guards and shooting at police officers.

The gang is said to have raided Wholesale Beef at about 2AM. Wholesale Beef manager Mr Terrence Hill confirmed the incident.

He could not immediately state how much money the company had lost in the armed robbery.

“Yes there are some armed robbers who pounced at our shop today at about 2AM. I suspect it could have been 12 or more guys. They managed to gain entry, disabled the alarm and cut the safe box. Donnington Police Station was alerted and they attended the scene while the robbers were still at the premises.

“The police however could not apprehend the suspects as the gang shot at them. I don’t think the cops were armed with guns. So there was no exchange of fire. They got away with cash and I can only let you know about the figure tomorrow,” said Mr Hill.

He said the armed robbers also attacked the company’s security guards during the raid and they were left with minor bruises.

Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube could not be immediately reached for comment.

However, police are on record urging members of the public to avoid keeping large sums of money in their premises to avoid being targeted by thieves and robbers.

Two weeks ago, police in Bulawayo recovered US$24 000 and R120 000 cash which had been stolen by a 20-year-old. – The Chronicle