Gael Whelan
Two men entered a branch of Barclays Bank on Pearl Street in Salisbury this morning. They held the four bank employees at gunpoint whilst they robbed the vault that had just been opened for business hours. They escaped with five hundred thousand pounds. Along with the money, three newly minted seal matrixes and their molds were stolen. The seals are unique in that two of them are used in the office of the prime minister Sir Godfrey Martin Huggins, while the third seal is a newly designed seal, designed by local artist Lawenta Godari. This seal has been minted in honor of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II’s upcoming visit to Southern Rhodesia in August of this year. Seal matrixes of this type are often considered to be powerful political tools, as they are used to seal and confirm agreements between foreign governments. The seal designed by Godaria is known as the Great Rhodesian Seal and was to be used to notarize the signing of the agreement between Northern and Southern Rhodesia to build the Kariba Dam Hydro Electric Project. At time of going to press, the British South Africa Police Robbery Branch have no leads as to the whereabouts of the thieves or the stolen property. Barclays Bank has offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds for the return of the stolen property and the capture and conviction of the thieves.
