Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mulli exchanges fire with armed robbers

By Anthony Kasunda

In an action movie style, Blantyre business magnate Leston Mulli of Mulli Brothers on Sunday jumped out of his vehicle, crawled into a nearby Sable Farming Forest and spread bullets from his two handguns, setting on fire three-tonne lorry loaded with over MK3.5 million worth of property robbers had stolen from his Mapanga residence.

Mulli, in the company of police officers Limbe and Mapanga Police Unit on Sunday evening told one of Malawi’s dailies, The Nation that he had gone to the house around 5pm to check on the progress of renovations, only to discover that there were over 20 thieves boarding a Mitsubishi Hunter registration number MJ 3591.

“When I hooted at the gate, we heard a gunshot and when the guard checked over the wall, he saw a group of robbers who had just loaded a three-tonne lorry with assorted property.

“They started fleeing in the lorry as they kept on firing in the air and I chased them. When we reached Sable Farming Forest, the lorry got stuck in the mud and they started firing at me,” he said.

Mulli said fearing that he might be hit, he jumped out of his Land Cruiser pick-up to hide in the bush.

“We exchanged fire until the robbers ran out of ammunition and they started running away into the bush. I kept on firing at them and one bullet landed on their car’s fuel tank, setting the vehicle on fire,” he narrated.

The businessman said the driver of the vehicle and his assistant were apprehended and handed over to police.

He said the robbers stole steel beams, vehicle engines, radiators and assorted motor vehicle accessories. He also said the property got burnt when the vehicle caught fire.

Owner of the vehicle, Juma Kalanje, confirmed that some people had hired the lorry.

“The driver told me that he had been hired to go to Makhetha but I did not know the purpose of the hire,” said Kalanje from Limbe Police Station.

Limbe Police spokesperson Chifundo Chibwezo said they arrested Wilson Sakwata, 18, Manase Simon, 35, Wilson Dinyero, 30, in connection with the robbery.

“The three were arrested on allegations of theft from Mulli Brothers workshop in Mapanga and they will appear in court very soon,” said Chibwezo-The Nation.

1 comment: