A Harare chicken farmer is counting her losses after being duped of 250 chickens worth US$1,500 by two men who paid her with a single US$20 note and a stack of worthless old Zimbabwe dollar bills.
Lucia Nyamayaro said she was contacted by a “customer” using mobile numbers 0787393755 and 0788682398 after advertising dressed chickens on Facebook.
The matter was reported to Avondale Police Station, under crime reference number RRB 6484751.
“The buyer ordered 250 birds for US$1,500, and a meeting was set for 6 AM today at Strathaven shops, where the customer purported to own a butchery.
“The man I had been talking to didn’t show up, but two other guys arrived in a Toyota Hilux, registration AFT 7625, saying they worked for him.”
“They handed me a bunch of cash in US$10 and US$20 notes. I counted and confirmed it was US$1,500.
“They then said they needed to fetch the keys to the butchery from their boss’s house nearby and couldn’t leave both the money and the chickens with me.”
She returned the cash, only for the pair to suggest taking the chickens after all.
“We began loading the chickens into their vehicle.
“When we were almost done, one of them handed me what I thought was the same bundle of cash.
“They then jumped into their vehicle and sped off,” he said.
When she checked the money, she discovered it was a single US$20 note wrapped around a pile of obsolete Zimbabwe dollar notes.
“I could cry. I went through so much to raise these chickens for this order, and to lose all that money like this is heartbreaking,” she said.
Anyone who recognises the suspects is urged to contact the nearest police station or call the victim on 0772972380.
