Crack team to probe violent robberies

MASERU-A CRACK team has been set up to investigate the possible involvement of police officers in a spate of violent robberies that recently rocked Maseru in recent weeks.
The team is made up of soldiers, police officers and officers from the National Security Service (NSS).

Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli last night confirmed the development but declined to comment further on the matter.
He said the issue was sensitive and could not be shared with the media at this point.
Army spokesman Captain Sakeng Lekola last night said he was not aware of the developments.

It is not clear as when will the team will begin its investigations.
The investigations will likely include the recent fatal shooting of a security officer along Kingsway. The security guard was shot dead when some gunmen robbed a butchery in Maseru three weeks ago.
The robbers escaped on foot but one of them was nabbed while fleeing towards the Maseru Central Park.

The man had a loaded 7.65mm pistol, while an undisclosed amount of money was found in his possession.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the six men were travelling in a grey Honda Fit with no number plates.
Meanwhile, burglars broke into the

Game Store two weeks ago at night and stole goods worth at least M167 000.
Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli said preliminary investigations indicated that the burglars entered the shop at Maseru Mall through the roof.

The stolen property included new laptops, cell phones and cigarettes.
A locally-owned Basotho enterprise, Enrich Store, was also robbed of stashes of cash a month ago at night.
The store manager, Victor Koetle, declined to disclose the amount of money that had been stolen to allow investigations to unfold smoothly.

But police sources said a staggering M150 000 was stolen at the supermarket.
Apart from the cash, boxes of cigarettes worth more than M7 000 were also stolen.
There have been consecutive break-ins at the Ministry of Sport where lap-tops were also stolen.
These break-ins have happened about five times in recent months.

During the Easter holidays, the ministry’s offices were robbed and three doors were broken.
Earlier this year, there was also a break-in at the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture where some files were stolen.
For all these crimes, no arrests have been made except for a man who was part of a group that fatally shot the guard.

Majara Molupe