A notorious gang of six thugs, armed with pistols and knives, re-cently abducted six Zimbabwean cross-border traders, including the driver, a South African, and robbed them of goods worth more than R17 000 along the Bulawayo-Beit Bridge Road, police have said.

The Matabeleland South province’s police spokesperson, Inspector Tafanana Dzirutwe, said the incident occurred last week at around 20:00, outside Beit Bridge town. The victims were traveling in a Gauteng-registered Nissan Sentra to Johannesburg.

“The six armed robbers were moving around in a red Mazda 323, which had no number plates. They had been following their vic-tims, who were destined for Beit Bridge en-route to South Africa from Bulawayo.

“After stopping the victims’ car, one of the suspects got out while wielding a pistol and fired some warning shots into the ground. The other five suspects, who were also armed, ordered the driver to alight from the vehicle. Two of the suspects got into the car and later ordered him (the driver) to drive backwards while the other four suspects were following behind in their Mazda 323 vehicle,” Insp. Dzirutwe said.

The seven victims, two male adults aged between 31 and 32, two female adults and three female juveniles, had been offered a lift by the South Africa driver of the Nissan Sentra.

“The suspects later ordered the driver to stop the vehicle at a bushy area where the two of the suspects then pushed the driver and one female passenger out of the car and tied them to a tree.

“The suspects then drove away with the five remaining victims towards Beit Bridge at high speed, only to stop after a while to rob the victims of their bags containing clothes and other valuables all val-ued at R17 000,” Insp Dzirutwe said.

The two victims who were tied to a tree managed to free themselves and made a report to a nearby police station.

A follow-up was made by the police, leading to the recovery of the vehicle, together with the other five victims near Gwanda.

However, the suspects had already left the scene and they are still at large.

“We are now investigating as the suspects are on the run. We are also appealing to community members to report to us and supply any information which might lead to the arrest of the six suspects. As usual, we also urge travelers and motorists to be on the lookout for armed robbers along our major highways,” said the police spokesperson.