MUSINA – Four women were last week kidnapped near the Beit Bridge Border Post by the so-called Guma-Guma gang from Zimbabwe. The group, in which the women were travelling, was first attacked and then robbed by the gang.

According to police spokesperson, Insp Jacques du Buisson the group was waiting for transport at Beit Bridge at about 21:25, when a group of about eleven men armed with axes approached them. They were ordered to sit, after which a 30-year-old male and a 23-year-old woman were robbed about R600 and a cellphone. The victims were searched one-by-one by their attackers. Shortly afterwards, Insp Du Buisson said, the group of robbers kidnapped four women from the group, dragging them into the bushes.

Members of the local Crime Prevention Unit and the Public Order Police were alerted, after which a search team was immediately sent out to look for the women. Two suspects were arrested during the search, but there was no trace of the kidnapped women. Police also came upon a 42-year-old man who was assaulted and robbed by the same group.

At about 03:47, two of the kidnapped women were found on the eastern side of Beit Bridge. They stated that the robbers released them, after indecently assaulting them.

It is believed that the two women, who are still missing, were taken to Zimbabwe. The Guma-Guma gang is said to consist of both South African and Zimbabwean males.