FOLLOWING a sustained rise in armed robbery cases, police have implored companies to thoroughly vet their employees as some of them allegedly end up conniving with armed robbers.
This comes after the country recently recorded a 22 percent increase in armed robbery cases.
National police spokesperson, Paul Nyathi told the Daily News yesterday that companies should exercise due diligence and be extra-careful when employing individuals.
“We are imploring companies to vet their employees because some of the information we have heard is that robberies are also taking place because of people who are leaking information to criminals who include the companies’ staff and the close associates of some individuals or companies.
“And we have also noted that some security companies who engage in cash-in-transit business should also ensure that their staff are reputable and are not working together with criminals because some security companies have had their staff being arrested after working with criminals to steal money which they are supposed to be transporting from one place to another,” said Nyathi.
He also urged citizens to be extra careful and to always make sure that they keep large sums of money in safe places.
“We have said people should not keep large sums of money at home or in business premises, but in banks.
“The government should also allow the multi-currency system to operate where people can easily get their US dollars or other currencies from the bank,” said Nyathi.
This comes as some of the armed robberies reported in the country saw some private security officers being implicated.
In December last year, security guards employed by Fawcett Security were arrested for allegedly stage-managing a cash-in-transit heist in which US$334 290 was stolen.
According to the police, the security guards connived with armed robbers and claimed they had been robbed of the money on the Bulawayo-Harare highway.
The guards, who were transporting cash from Bulawayo to Harare, claimed they had been robbed at a fake police roadblock on the highway.
Commenting after the incident, Nyathi said the whole episode was theft and an “element of inside job and dishonesty on the part of the security guards”.
It also emerged that one of the security guards later posted selfies with wads of new US dollar bills on WhatsApp, leading to his arrest.
by
Hazel Marimbiza
in BULAWAYO