2017-02-22Staff Report 2 Maria Amakali Windhoek-Police last Friday recovered N$80,000 of the money armed robbers stole at gunpoint from employees of the Puma Service Station along Eveline Street in Greenwell Matongo, and seized the getaway car. The amount recovered forms part of the N$700,000 the armed robbers snatched from the three Puma employees. The robbery occurred on Monday last week outside the Pick n Pay complex in Katutura while the service station employees were on their way to deposit the money in the bank. The suspects Japhet Ekandjo, Johannes Kambonde, Simeon Nangolo, Nghilifavali Johannes, Laurencia Ipinge and Gabriel Nehale all made their first appearance in Katutura magistrates court on charges of theft. The seven suspects, including an employee from Bank Windhoek, pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against them and the court advised them to lodge a formal bail application. During the court proceedings, the state disclosed that police recovered a portion of the money the robbers stole. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi said police also seized the black VW Golf, without registration plates, the robbers used as the getaway vehicle. It remains a mystery how the robbers knew the service station workers were carrying such a substantial amount of cash, as well as why they did not have a security guard escort. Even though they were transporting such a huge sum of money, no security guard accompanied the employees. Robberies involving large sums of cash have been on the rise recently, and in another notable case reported over the weekend criminals robbed a male Spanish citizen of property with a combined value of N$106,700 at Walvis Bay. Unknown men with knives allegedly robbed the Spaniard after ordering him to drive to Independence Beach in the Kuisebmond residential area of Walvis Bay, where the robbery took place. The items included a necklace, two iPhone cellular phones, a watch, wallet and a bracelet. Police have made no arrest yet in the Walvis Bay case, and investigations are still ongoing. 2017-02-22Staff Report 2
