Durban - A Waterfall family became the latest victims of armed criminals who held them hostage for three hours while ransacking their home on Monday night.
The husband, his pregnant wife and their 9-year-old son were about to go to bed in their Forest Hills home when four men barged in.
A police source said the family were taken upstairs and their hands were cable-tied.
The gang kept yelling: “Don’t look at us; look down,” the policeman said.
They demanded cash and valuables and helped themselves to food and alcohol before ransacking the house.
“They also demanded the bank cards and PIN codes. They said one of them would stay behind and they would call him if they gave them the wrong pin,” he said.
Steven King of Secure Link said the husband managed to free himself and push the panic button.
He notified the Shongweni K9 unit, which immediately responded.
“The suspects were chased into KwaDabeka township where the robbers abandoned the car and fled. The Kia Cerato was recovered. The family have received trauma counselling.”
The robbery was the third in Queens Crescent and the fourth in Forest Hills recently.
“The modus operandi is the same. The group moves around on foot and uses the victims’ cars to transport their loot. Although no one has been injured the community must not take chances. They are armed and dangerous,” King said.
Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker confirmed the incident.
The Mercury