Africa-Press – Namibia. Five armed robbers struck at the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) service station at Soweto, Katutura, in Windhoek and stole about N$100 000 at around 09h00 yesterdaymorning.
This was confirmed by police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi who says one of the robbers was shot at the scene by police officers and was apprehended. His accomplices drove away in a get-away car.
“The suspects arrived at the filling station in a get-away vehicle and pointed guns at the workers and took the cash.
“One of the workers stopped a passing City Police patrol vehicle and reported the robbery, and the suspects were chased with one of them being shot in the leg,” Shikwambi says.
She says the other four members of the gang managed to escape with the cash, although she could not say the exact figure.
Police are on the hunt for the gang, Shikwambi says.
David Ilonga, the proprietor of the Namcor Soweto service station, situated opposite A Shipena Secondary School, says he suspects the robbery to be an inside job. “The precision with which the robbery was carried out was too accurate to be a coincidence,” he says, without revealing those he suspects.
Ilonga says the robbers struck when the money was being counted to be collected for banking by an armed security escort.
“Being month-end they expected we had a lot of money but we had already banked some of it,” he says.
Ilonga says although they are still to reconcile the figures, about N$65 000 from the filling station and about N$30 000 from the Pick n Pay Express store was taken.
“They came straight to the manager’s office at the time the money was being counted for handing over to the security escort. They knew precisely where to go,” he says.
He says the robbers dropped one of the two bags containing the money and adds that, luckily, no workers or customers were injured during the shootout between the robbers and the police.
“I applaud the police officers for their prompt action in responding to our distress call,” Ilonga says.
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