Bail for duo suspected of stealing truck full of copper
Two suspects involved in the daring theft of a freight truck carrying copper sheets worth an estimated P7 million were granted bail by Francistown Magistrates Court last Friday.
The pair: 56-year-old Roboros Mudzingwa, a self-made flamboyant city slicker, and his alleged partner, respected farmer Bushi Nyathi, 62, were set free after spending a week in jail.
Speaking to The Voice, Kutlwano Station Commander, Superintendent Alice Oabile revealed the police received a report on 26 April about a missing horse and trailer truck hauling copper sheets.
The Superintendent said the supervisor of a local security company called to report one of their trucks carrying a copper consignment was abandoned in Serule, with the trailer and copper nowhere to be found. It is suspected another tractor head with local registration numbers was used to haul the trailer full of the valuable metal.
In a move reminiscent of the classic movie ‘The Italian Job’, which centers around Charlie Croker played by Michael Caine, who together with his gang make a getaway with a cache of gold through the city of Turin, Italy in an armoured security truck. The elaborate plan for the getaway involved manipulating the city’s CCTV surveillance and traffic control systems. The loot would then be loaded into the boots of three mini coopers, for that iconic drive through the city’s dark alleys to a perfect undetected exit.
There were no such plot twists to this story. The trailer and its contents were found at one of the suspect’s farm in Monarch Siding.
Despite the prosecution’s plea that the suspects be remanded in custody for fear they might interfere with investigations, Magistrate Ditebogo Ntule said there was no sufficient evidence to suggest this. She decided the prosecution’s concerns were based on their own feelings instead of any hard facts.
Magistrate Ntule then ordered the duo to surrender their travelling documents to the police and pay cash bail of P5,000 each. They are also to report to Central Police Station once a month.
Meanwhile, the driver remains on the run.
