Durban - Three gangs of robbers all posing as policemen struck at about the same time this week, duping families before robbing them at gunpoint in their homes.
The incidents, reported to police at about the same time on Tuesday night, have left the real police scratching their heads.
In the three separate incidents, in Bonela (Cato Manor), Hillcrest and eMkhomazi (Umkomaas), the victims said the men had been wearing police uniforms, reflective vests and bullet-proof vests.
The victims were not harmed.
In Bonela, the Mohamed family were held up at 7.45pm.
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said the victims were in their house when the robbery happened.
“Suddenly the four suspects produced firearms and robbed them of cash, a firearm, jewellery and cellphone before fleeing in their vehicle,” Zwane said.
Yunus Mohamed said he had returned home from mosque and heard a car in his driveway.
He peered through the window and saw a police bakkie used by crime scene detectives. Mohamed asked if they needed help. The men told him to come out quickly and that they had arrested a man who was stealing from his car.
“I ran out to have a look. They followed me back into my house with a man that (had) presumably stolen my tool box. They asked us if anyone in the house could identify him. The four pretended to interrogate him. He was on his knees in our kitchen,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed, 57, his wife Bibi, 57, son Nawaaz, 20, and daughter Tasneem, 29, were standing in the kitchen. Mohamed said the man insisted he worked for the family.
“They were play-acting. The man on the ground smiled and stood up. The men pulled out guns, grabbed us, pushed us to the ground and tied our hands with cable ties. They took me to the room at gunpoint. They took my safe,” Mohamed said.
“They uttered a few words. One of them entered and greeted us ‘Salaams, how’s the fasting?’
“One guy said that if he heard the azaan he would blow our heads off,” he added.
While one of them was trying to remove the television he received a phone call and the men ran out the house.
The intruders took a safe containing R10 000 in cash, a .38-special, a case containing 300 bullets and 120 Mandela R5 coins. They also took the car and house keys.
In the second incident at 8pm, Securlink security spokesman Steven King said three men dressed in police uniforms robbed tenants in Kundalila Road, Waterfall.
King said the raiders arrived in a silver VW Polo and told the owner they were looking for suspects that lived on his property.
“They showed the owner a police badge. The lights went out for the scheduled load shedding. The men went to a tenant’s room and broke down the door. They said, ‘Police, get down on the floor’. By then there were five men,” King said.
The men took cash, phones and valuables and fled in their car. Zwane confirmed the robbery.
In eMkhomazi, Zwane said the victim, 38, was asleep and was awoken by her sister. “When she opened the door, two men with firearms entered the house. They identified themselves as police officers. They made enquiries about the vehicle outside, whether it had tracking and was paid in full. They then demanded the car keys and threatened her,” Zwane said. The men took the vehicle and four cellphones.
Cases of house robbery were opened at eMkhomazi, Cato Manor and Hillcrest SAPS, but Zwane said no arrests had been made yet.
In May Zwane warned people to beware of bogus cops. Three men had been using a white Toyota Avanza in KwaMashu, Newlands East and in Greenwood Park to carry out robberies.
They did not use police uniforms, but used a vehicle fitted with a blue light. They pretended to be members of the SAPS. They used the blue light to stop motorists and rob them.
On July 5 police raided two homes in Newlands and Pinetown. They arrested a 36-year-old man believed to be a member of a blue light gang. He was charged for a house robbery in Greytown.
In Pinetown a 40-year-old man was arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. On searching the house, police found a police blue light, a police uniform, pepper spray, two blue overalls, stockings, rubber gloves, knives and false number plates. Police also recovered a stolen vehicle.
Daily News