The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has urged motorists to refrain from leaving their vehicle engines running when they stop and need to disembark, as thieves may exploit the situation and steal their vehicles.
This comes after an unsuspecting motorist in Eastlea, Harare lost their vehicle to a thief. The incident occurred on Friday when the motorist stopped the vehicle, left the engine idling, and disembarked to open the gate.
According to the police, as the victim was opening the gate, an unknown suspect swiftly jumped into the vehicle and drove off. Said the ZRP:
ZRP urges the public not to leave vehicle engines idling if they stop and want to do something after disembarking. This follows a case of theft of a motor vehicle which occurred in Eastlea, Harare on 10/05/24 in which an Orange Proton Gen 2 GLS vehicle registration number ADR 5543 was stolen. The victim disembarked his vehicle and left the engine running while he went to open the gate when an unknown suspect got into the vehicle and drove away.
Police have appealed for anyone with information that may lead to the recovery of the vehicle to report to the nearest police station.
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