By Staff Reporter

POLICE in Midlands have arrested a 43-year-old man in Shurugwi suspected to be behind a carjacking incident and theft of property worth USD$517 790.

Midlands provincial police spokesperson Emmanuel Mahoko said the suspect, Panganai Sithole, robbed Levison Chakawa (23) and Joshua Chakawa (47) of Hertfordshire, Gweru of a Toyota IST vehicle after he had been offered a lift from Masvingo to Shurugwi.

“After travelling for a distance, Panganai produced a Pistol and grabbed the driver demanding cash. Joshua escaped from the vehicle and ran away. The suspect took over the vehicle and drove away towards Shurugwi.  A report was made to the police. On 20 October 2021 a tip-off was received to the effect that the suspected stolen vehicle had been sighted in Shurugwi communal area,” Mahoko said.

“Police acted on the information and recovered the vehicle which had been painted with different colour and its number plates removed.  Further investigations were carried out leading to the arrest of the accused Pangani Sithole at his hideout in Masvingo,” said Mahoko.

Police recovered electrical gadgets a laptop, 64 gig memory stick, ipad tablet cellphone, Huawei tablet, car keys, vehicle number plates and a silver spray gun.

“Police are appealing to members of the public to avoid giving transport to strangers whenever they are travelling and we would like to thank members of the public for cooperating with the police when investigating serious crimes,” said Mahoko.