-as police warn of online scammers
MILLICENT HUNGWE
The love for discounted deals ended in tears for two Mvuma women vendors after falling victim to an Exor conman in Masvingo City who robbed and raped them on Africa Day in the evening.
The women met the sharp tongued conman in Mvuma separately on the same day when he promised them sweet deals involving cheap dragon drinks and foodstuffs from South Africa as he claimed to be a ‘truck driver’.
The first victim was robbed $300 and a cellphone at knife point and the second lost $10 and a cellphone as she had been promised to get the cheap stuff for free and pay back in instalments since she had no capital.
The two women vendors fell for the deals and concealed information from each other although they operated from the same market in Mvuma, probably due to jealousy which could have consumed them.
The man exchanged his contact details with the women and they promised to meet up and finalise the sweet deals on the day he will be travelling to South Africa.
Sources at Exor told The Midweek Watch that the suspect who is at large met the two vendors at an open market in Mvuma.
The first victim sold a Dragon energy drink to him, and he enquired if she had money to buy more for resale at discounted rate from South Africa.
The two struck a deal and exchanged cellphone numbers.
When the first victim left her market stall, he asked the second vendor if she had money to invest, as he had access to cheap potatoes and sugar in South Africa. They made an arrangement that he would buy the goods with his own capital and they would share the profit, as she had told him that she didn’t have capital.
The trio continued to chat on WhatsApp separately until the fateful day.
On Africa Day, the first victim arrived in Masvingo City and disembarked at Chevron around 3pm in time to prepare for the ‘journey’ to South Africa.
He told his victim that they could not use his vehicle because it’s illegal to drive around with a haulage truck in the residential suburbs.
He suggested that they walk to Chitima market and then to Mucheke Rank to collect something.
Before they reached Mucheke Rank he suggested that they walk to Exor where he had parked his haulage truck through the Ndarama High School bushy area.
Suddenly he withdrew a knife and forced the woman to undress, raped her and took her cellphone including $300 cash then proceeded to his second victim.
The other woman had informed him that she had arrived at Exor for them to go to South Africa.
Upon meeting her at Exor he suggested that she accompanies him to Rujeko to collect something and then head to town where his truck was parked.
As they walked along a bushy pathway from Exor to Rujeko at around 9pm the suspect stopped and produced a knife and raped the woman before taking her cellphone and $10.
Both victims reported the incidents that night, one at Rujeko Police Station and the other at Chikato Police Station.
Masvingo province police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said they have not received the report.
Meanwhile, The ZRP would like to raise awareness about cybercrime where some individuals pretend to befriend clients online, engage in fake business deals, and lure victims to meet in person, resulting in theft, robbery, and even rape.
“We urge the public to exercise caution and only do business with people they know and trust.
“Specifically, be cautious of fake relationships or scams where individuals promise cheap goods from South Africa. Verify the authenticity of people you interact with online before engaging in any transactions or meetings,” said Dhewa.
