By A Correspondent- Police in Harare have arrested -Three suspected carjackers targeting taxi drivers before robbing them of their vehicles and cash.
The three are David Dexter Mwanjera (40) of Rusape, Fungai Nyamunhu (35) of Epworth and Tarwirei Madzudzo (47) of St Mary’s, Chitungwiza.
They have appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts where they were remanded in custody to October 6 for trial.
It is alleged that on Monday at around 5pm, a taxi driver was parking his vehicle, a silver Honda Fit, near the intersection of Chinhoyi Street and Agostino Neto Avenue (Speke Avenue) when he was approached by the three.
They reportedly pretended to be genuine customers seeking to be driven to Borrowdale and agreed to pay US$15.
One of the suspects jumped into the front passenger seat while the others sat at the back.
Along Liberation Legacy Way (Borrowdale Road), it is alleged that they ordered the driver to turn into Whitwell Road by Borrowdale School since they wanted to alight.
He complied.
One of the suspects in the back then grabbed the driver’s neck before covering his face with a cloth and stabbed him on the left arm with a knife.
The driver was searched and the suspects took US$80.
They took over the taxi and continued north for some distance before dumping the driver in Glen Forest.
A report was made at Borrowdale Police Station who then referred the matter to CID Vehicle Theft Squad.
The detectives then received information that the vehicle had been taken to Rusape where Mwanjera stayed.
They raided his house leading to the recovery of the vehicle, which had been stripped of the number plates including the third number plate.
Mwanjera was arrested and he implicated Nyamunhu and Madzudzo who were arrested in the city and Epworth.
Police recently expressed concern over the continued increase in armed robbery cases countrywide.
In one of the cases, eight armed robbers attacked two security guards at Agricorn Equipment along Coventry Road before tying their hands and legs with shoe laces.
The gang stole US$43 000 cash from the finance director’s office after they broke the locking system of the cash safe using two angle grinders which they took from the workshop.