Zimbabwe: Cops At Tobacco Floors

Source from:  The Herald 02/27/2012

POLICEMEN have been deployed, at all auction floors, to thwart criminal activities during this year's tobacco-selling season. Some illegal activities were also taking place with commercial sex workers targeting farmers before stealing their cash. Police say they have put up adequate security measures to ensure that farmers do not lose their cash to criminals. Some of the measures include police posts at all tobacco auction floors, foot and cycle patrols and plain clothes policemen. Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau, yesterday said deployments were being made for the security and safety of the auction floors and farmers. He said they also had public relations officers who were carrying out crime awareness campaigns. "For the past years we have been having some farmers who were losing cash to criminals. Right now we have criminals who are targeting them and going to the auction floors," Insp Sabau said. Last year, he said, two farmers lost their cash to thieves who were posing as policemen. The thieves approached the two farmers and accused them of "walking through a red traffic intersection light" along Willowvale Road. Insp Sabau said the thieves then masqueraded as policemen and ordered the unsuspecting farmers to accompany them to Southerton Police Station. "The two farmers were later ordered to surrender their valuables and money before being ordered to wait at the gate," he said. Enditem