Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has warned armed robbers that they will be dealt with severely.
The warning comes after detectives gunned down more than five armed robbers and arrested more than 24 this month including six South Africans.
The CID also reportedly foiled a planned armed robbery in Kwekwe resulting in the arrest of suspects for conspiracy to commit armed robbery after a shootout.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday News in Bulawayo, Acting Chief Director CID, Assistant Commissioner Jealous Nyabasa warned armed robbers that they will face the full consequences of their actions. He said:
I want to make it clear that there is no space for armed robberies in Zimbabwe. If you touch a gun, the repercussions will be severe.
As we speak, this festive season we have had several encounters with armed robbers including two South Africans who were gunned down.
So the message is, you touch a gun, you die by the gun. We will not allow our people to suffer at the hands of armed robbers, we will deal with them severely.
Asst Comm Nyabasa said they have deployed specialised crack teams even in remote areas to deal with dangerous criminals. He said:
It was traditionally rare to find armed robbers in rural areas but now because of the changing dynamics, rural areas are witnessing economic growth.
People in the rural areas now have the means and ways of getting money so criminals also do their homework, they also do their intelligence analysis and can follow where the money is.
This means there is some cash in the rural areas and they follow that is why these cases are escalating in the rural areas.
However, as police we are prepared, we have established crack teams in our districts, stations and whatever rural area be it Binga or wherever we have our specialised units who are ready.
Asst Comm Nyabasa also said Police now have to contend with emerging cybercrimes such as phishing attacks. He said:
As a police service, we look at crimes of concern, to say which is the crime affecting more people at the moment.
We will witness a growth in crime but we try to put it to acceptable levels as you cannot eradicate crime.
These crimes of concern include murder, armed robberies and the new emerging cybercrimes like [phishing].
At the moment, we still have dark figures on these cybercrimes because they are just emerging crimes, some people are not reporting, some are reporting and some do not even understand what is happening.
I think we have to raise awareness of these crimes so that people are aware.
According to IBM, phishing attacks are fraudulent emails, text messages, phone calls or websites designed to trick users into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or personal data (e.g., Social Security and credit card numbers, bank account numbers, login credentials), or taking other actions that expose themselves or their organisations to cybercrime.
Meanwhile, Asst Comm Nyabsa expressed gratitude to various stakeholders including members of the public for their generosity and support.
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