Cape Town - A distraught mother wants to warn people about a gang who targets homes where only children are present, after her own son was robbed and kidnapped.
The alleged thieves pretend to know the children’s parents, and coax them into handing over valuables.
Traumatised mom Jolene Hudson, 38, said her 14 and 10-year-old sons were tricked into giving the men their PlayStation 3, 13 games and two controllers, after the gang came to her house in New Woodlands, Mitchells Plain, last Sunday.
The three men and one woman, who were driving a green Toyota Corolla, pretended they were her friends.
Jolene had gone to Paarl to visit a sick relative and left her sons in the care of their uncle.
The uncle had walked a friend home nearby when the group struck.
The 14-year-old said one of the men said he knew their mom.
“He said he and my mother had a deal, that I must give him the PlayStation in exchange for an XBox and a television. He said their truck which had the goods on it had broken down,” said the teen boy.
The boy said he opened the door to phone his mom, when the man “barged in”.
“He took my phone and placed it on the table and said they were in a hurry.”
The alleged thief asked for a piece of paper to write something down, and tricked the child into going with them to get the XBox and the TV.
The 14-year-old said they drove to a mechanic in Highlands Drive in Colorado Park and he was told to get out.
“He [the robber] gave me the piece of paper and said I must give it to the mechanic who would help me,” he said.
But the mechanic didn’t know what he was talking about, and the confused child had to make his way back home - a 1.5km walk.
Meanwhile, the 10-year-old, who was at home, said he called his mom when the gang drove of with his brother.
Jolene said they turned around and rushed home, calling the police on the way.
“We want to warn others because I am lucky my son was left unharmed but their aim was to clear out the house,” she said.
Police did not respond to queries by on Sunday night.
In February, a 15-year-old boy was also tricked by a gang in Bilijaart Street, Beacon Valley.
The men, who drove a Golf 3, stole an XBox, a television and cellphones.
Daily Voice