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Zimbabwe: Thief Hides in Shop Ceiling
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008
A GWERU man who broke into a Walk Tall shop in the city centre after gaining entry through the roof and stole 19 pairs of shoes spent some time hiding in the ceiling with the police searching for him.
Police were alerted of the break-in by an alert security guard doing duties near the premises who made a report leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Confirming the incident that happened on Sunday at about 9.50pm, Midlands police spokesperson, Inspector Patrick Chademana, said it appeared the suspect had done his homework well save for the alert security guard who spoiled everything for him.
"He (the suspect) chose a day when the town was quiet -- Sunday and pounced on Walk Tall shop along Robert Mugabe Street at around 9.50pm. An alert security guard on duty reported to the police that he had seen a stranger near Walk Tall. When the police came hunting for him he sought refugee in the ceiling," said Insp Chademana.
He said police called the owner of the shop and asked for the front door keys.
When the police opened the shop, they discovered that the suspect had gained entry through the hole he had opened on the roof of the shop.
"The suspect then packed 19 pairs of shoes and a pair of sandals into two travelling bags. An alert security guard spotted him before he could make good his escape. He was discovered hiding in the ceiling when the police finally gained entry into the shop," said Insp Chademana.
Somehow, the suspect managed to evade the police and escaped through the roof.
The police gave chase and caught up with him.
"He was arrested and is expected to appear in court soon to answer charges of theft and unlawful entry," said Insp Chademana.
The 19 pairs of shoes and a pair of sandals with a combined value of $100 billion were recovered.
Meanwhile, the police in Gweru have busted a three-man theft syndicate that was stealing shoes at Bata Shoe Company Factory.
The three suspects, who work for a security company providing guarding duties to the company, were allegedly selling the shoes to residents of Mkoba Suburb.
Insp Chademana said the trio was also from Mkoba suburb.
"The suspects would operate as a chain to complete the theft. One would steal the shoes from the shoe factory and hide them in his jacket then take them to a nearby bush while the second would take them to a safer place away from the factory. The third would take them to Mkoba for sale," he said.
Insp Chademana said the three suspects were arrested after the police received a tip-off and instituted investigations.
"Our investigations led to the arrest of the three suspects all providing guard duties to Bata Shoe Factory," said Insp Chademana.
The police spokesperson said one of the suspects led the police to three separate houses in Mkoba 10 and another in Mkoba 18 where 16 pairs of shoes were recovered.
"Further investigations led to the arrest of the other two suspects leading to the recovery of more pairs of shoes," he said.
A total of 24 pairs of shoes were recovered with an estimated value of $545 billion.
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"We are appealing to members of the public to desist from buying wares from suspicious characters or people who are not legally entitled to market products of companies in question," said Insp Chademana.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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