Four armed robbers descended on the Roman Catholic Church in Beit Bridge and robbed the local priest of US$2 000, R4 000 and two laptop computers at gunpoint.

According to the priest, Father Jules Greber, the incident occurred on Thursday evening (22/09), shortly before midnight.

He said the suspects, two of whom were wielding rifles, forced the locked door open and demanded money. They did not, however, harm the priest. “I was asleep when I heard some noise emanating from the main door. When I got up, four men confronted me. They ordered me not shout amid threats to shoot me and grabbed two laptops, US$2 000 and R4 000 and disappeared into the darkness,” Greber said.

The suspects found their way into the church premises after cutting the fence and creating an opening. Local police spokesperson Chief Supt Lawrence Chinhengo confirmed the incident, saying investigations were still underway.

The latest incident comes hot on the heels of a similar case in the border town in which the Beit Bridge Rural District Council lost US$200 000 when three unknown suspects pounced on a security guard manning the local authority’s premises. The armed robbers blindfolded the security guard and handcuffed him at gunpoint before they broke into the strong room and made off with the cash.

The suspects are also still at large.

Meanwhile, police in Beit Bridge have intensified patrols along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo and Beit Bridge-Bulawayo highway, following an increase in the number of robbery cases. Chinhengo said the patrols were aimed at flushing out criminals operating along the highways and mainly targeting trucks and foreign motorists at laybye points and rail crossings. “We are experiencing a problem of robbery cases occurring along our major highways. It looks like the suspects, who operate as a syndicate, normally target trucks and South African-registered cars as they slow down at rail crossings or stop at laybye points, where they then pounce on them,” he said.

Chinhengo said they had since deployed police officers to the criminal hot spots. “We also want to urge motorists, particularly those travelling at night, to be wary of these highway robbers. We have also intensified our patrols,” he said.

Last week, police arrested three suspects believed to be linked to a syndicate. The suspects were caught while in the process of stealing from a South African haulage truck and goods worth thousands of rands were recovered.