Times Of Swaziland: BUY CASH EMPLOYEE ROBBED OF E100 000 IN QUANTUM

BUY CASH EMPLOYEE ROBBED OF E100 000 IN QUANTUM
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  BY JOSEPH ZULU  on 04/03/2020 02:10:00


PIGG’S PEAK – Within just a few seconds, two thugs fled with over E100 000
belonging to Buy Cash Hardware that was taken from a woman inside a Toyota
Quantum.
This is said to have happened on Monday inside the public transport vehicle
which is said to have been heading towards Pigg’s Peak, along the Matsamo
Pigg’s Peak Highway.
The money was taken from the employee of the hardware who was going to deposit
it in the bank in Pigg’s Peak town after a busy month- end weekend.
Police
Under normal circumstances, police officers are often requested to assist in
transporting money, particularly for amounts of over E10 000.
This publication gathered that police officers from Mliba Police Station
normally assist in transporting the money from the Madlangempisi branch of Buy
Cash Hardware but on Monday, this was not the case.
It is alleged the woman who had been tasked with transporting the money had
first boarded a bus from Madlangempisi, intending to go to deposit the money in
Pigg’s Peak at one of the banks.
The bus was heading for Pigg’s Peak when the driver is said to have informed
the passengers that he could not continue with the journey due to the poor road.
According to one of the commuters, the driver of the bus was worried that the
bus would be stuck due to the muddy road since it had been raining over the
weekend. At that point, the driver is said to have asked the commuters to board
a Quantum which would then take them to Pigg’s Peak.
Unlike the bus, the Quantum then used the highway through Buhleni/Msahweni and
headed for Pigg’s Peak town. The woman carrying the cash is said to have been
one of the commuters who shifted from the bus to the Quantum.
After the commuters had boarded  the Quantum, it  proceeded but while they were
travelling, the driver is said to have received a call from someone that they
had left some people behind.
Interestingly, another eyewitness, who asked not to be mentioned, revealed that
on the spot where the bus exchanged commuters with the Quantum, there had been a
blue Mazda parked with its bonnet open.
Driver
The caller is said to have told the driver of the Quantum that some elderly
people had been left behind and that they should wait for them.
When the elderly people eventually boarded the quantum, the would-be thugs also
boarded the kombi.
The eyewitness stated that the thugs somehow knew the woman because when they
boarded, one of the men headed to sit next to her.
The other thug is said to have taken another seat within the vehicle.
It is alleged that while the vehicle was still in motion, the thug who sat next
to the woman suddenly forcefully took the bag from her while the other ordered
the driver to stop while wielding what appeared to be a knife.
Even before the Quantum could fully stop, the two men quickly alighted from the
vehicle and fled into the bushes with the bag of cash.
The passengers were left so terrified that no one dared to attempt to follow the
thugs as they vanished into the nearby bushes.
After the robbery, upon arrival in Pigg’s Peak, the woman immediately reported
the incident to the police.
Senzo Nhlabatsi, who is a Manager at Pigg’s Peak Buy Cash, confirmed the
incident.
Nhlabatsi stated that the incident happened on Monday along the Matsamo-Pigg’s
Peak Highway near the Pigg’s Peak Hotel and Casino.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile
Vilakati confirmed that a woman was robbed of over E100 000 aboard a Quantum.
Investigation
Vilakati also noted that so far, no one had been arrested in connection with the
robbery but the matter was still under police investigation.  This is not the
first time money belonging to Buy Cash Hardware had been stolen.
Last year, criminals literally walked into another outlet of Buy Cash Hardware
and stole about E174 000 from the safe.
Thugs have been targeting Buy Cash Hardware as far back as 2014, particularly
around Hluti.
In one incident, an employee of Buy Cash Hardware was almost robbed of E100 000
when a man wielding a firearm ordered him to surrender the cash.