Harare, Zimbabwe — A foreign national who went on a high-stakes stealing spree at multiple Harare shopping centres has been arrested after CCTV footage captured his crimes.
Cassian Pascal Mangombe, 45, is accused of stealing over US$25,000, laptops, passports, IDs, and other valuables from parked vehicles. Authorities say he entered Zimbabwe illegally and had already begun sending stolen goods out of the country via bus before his arrest.
His first known hit occurred at Village Walk Shopping Centre in Borrowdale, where he allegedly broke into the vehicle of 26-year-old Sharif Ahmad Elamine. Mangombe stole US$2,000, two laptops (MSI and Lenovo), a Lebanese passport, and multiple Zambian documents, including a national ID and debit card. The entire theft was recorded on CCTV.
That same day, he struck again at Greenfields Shopping Centre on Samora Machel Avenue. There, he reportedly stole a bag containing US$23,000, company documents from Podhill, and a Chinese passport belonging to Mojian Lin, from the parked vehicle of Shaqyong Chen (50). He fled both crime scenes in a Toyota Fortuner.
Police say Mangombe is linked to at least three similar thefts across Harare between Monday and Thursday of last week.
According to Commissioner Paul Nyathi, detectives from the CID Theft from Motor Vehicles unit tracked down Mangombe on August 22 in Msasa, following a tip-off. During the arrest, police recovered fuel coupons stolen from the Borrowdale incident.
Investigations confirmed that Mangombe entered Zimbabwe without documentation, and that he had already exported some stolen laptops to his home country. The Zimbabwe Republic Police has since contacted INTERPOL for assistance in recovering those items.
Mangombe remains in custody as investigations continue.
