Gang Blows Open Agribank Safe, Suspect Shot And Arrested

A five-man gang used explosives to blow open a safe at the Agribank Lupane branch, resulting in one suspect, identified as Zenzo Siziba, being shot and arrested by the police.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday last week, and the suspect is now recovering in St. Luke’s Hospital under police guard. According to police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, the gang may be linked to other robbery cases, and investigations are ongoing. Nyathi said:

It’s a case of armed robbery which we are investigating which occurred at Agribank in Lupane when five suspects attacked a security guard and blew open a safe. They were however, ambushed by police officers before they took the money.

The suspect has been identified as Zenzo Siziba and we are still investigating. There is no going back in the fight against armed robbers.

The suspect has been charged with armed robbery in aggravated circumstances and was remanded to July 12 by a Lupane magistrate.

A member of the bank’s security team heard the alarm ringing and went to investigate, but he was ordered to leave the scene by three accomplices who emerged from the darkness and produced a gun. The security guard ran away and hid, and the police arrived on the scene after being alerted by the bank manager.

The suspects fled, and the police officers fired three warning shots during which one of the suspects, Zenzo Siiba, was shot and subsequently arrested. The police recovered a satchel that contained two computer hard drives, three used capped fuses, one dynamite, a screwdriver, hammer, and shifting spanner. The hard drives were identified as belonging to Agribank. The suspects had used a hammer to break the bank door and damage the CCTV.

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