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Herald Reporter

Six robbers armed with pistols attacked Koala Park farm along Seke Road in Harare on Tuesday morning and got away with US$30 000 cash, a Toyota Land Cruiser and an Isuzu KB after capturing a group of employees. 

The attack started at around 7am, when the six robbers, wearing orange work suits but carrying concealed 9mm pistols, were dropped in the middle of a wheat field 200m from the Koala entrance by a green Isuzu vehicle. 

They approached an irrigation foreman, identified only as Christine, pretending to be NetOne technical surveillance officials. 

The gang then summoned Koala employees in the wheat field and once they were together produced the pistols, tied them up with shoe laces, handcuffs and tyre cables and instructed them to lie down, before covering all the group with a sheet of black polythene plastic. 

The armed robbers then pretended to be Koala employees. 

They then asked for the whereabouts of the Koala director and senior management and details of how the farm was set up. 

At about 10am, an irrigation manager identified as Mr Bradley, brought tea to the workers and was met by the armed robbers who were still wearing Koala worksuits. 

They then pulled out the guns and he was forced to surrender and obey all orders. 

After being handcuffed he was ordered to call his superior, identified as Mr Mills, to come to the wheat field urgently. 

Mr Mills, driving his white Isuzu vehicle arrived quickly, was accosted and held at gunpoint while he was forced to summon a subordinate, identified as Mr Adrian, to bring US$30 000. 

Mr Adrian, a deboning manager, then drove his white Land Cruiser vehicle, registration AAV 2589, to wheat field alone. The robbers met him, took the cash, tied him up and laid him on the ground. 

All the captured employees were then forced into the back tray of the Isuzu and covered with the black plastic sheet. The vehicles were driven along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Way and the employees were dumped after the Isuzu developed an engine fault. The robbers boarded the Land Cruiser before vanishing.  The case was reported to Hatfield Police Station. Investigations are underway