Three Arrested Over Zimbabwe Murders

Zimbabwean police have arrested three men wanted in connection with the murders of two British men whose bodies were found dumped in a well, a police official said today.

The two Britons, Kenny James Froud, 39, and 40-year-old Simon Buckley, were believed to have been killed during a robbery in Harare's affluent eastern suburb of Greendale, where they shared a flat.

Their bodies were discovered earlier this month, submerged in 30ft of water, after a local security guard went to draw water from the well. The bodies had been weighed down by building blocks, and one had a rope around its neck.

Police also found an axe - believed to have been used in the killings - in the well. The men were thought to have been murdered in September.

Two of the suspects are brothers, and were arrested in the Gokwe district of northern Zimbabwe, around 241km (150 miles) west of Harare, Wayne Bvudzijena, an assistant police commissioner, said. He said the third suspect had been detained in Harare.

Mr Froud had reportedly been a resident of Zimbabwe for many years, and it was thought Mr Buckley had been visiting him for a few months.

The men had been missing for more than a month when family and friends saw a report in the Herald newspaper about two bodies being found, and contacted officers at Rhodesville police station. Three people, believed to have been relatives, identified the bodies at a hospital mortuary.

Police said forensics indicated that the men had been killed in their flat. Most of their belongings - including a fridge, a mobile phone and a camera - had been taken.

Mr Buckley was originally from Tyneside, and it was thought that he had been living in southern England before moving to Africa. Mr Froud was said to be from southern England.