Durban - BEWARE after withdrawing large amounts of money.
This warning came from police on Thursday after two men were targeted in successive days soon after walking out of banks. The first incident, which was captured on CCTV camera, took place at Solly Manjra Caterers in Sea Cow Lake on Wednesday.
The footage was posted on the Facebook group Bulwer Safety & Urban Regeneration Forum and shows an elderly man being robbed by three men.
The post accompanying the video states that the man was followed to the caterers after leaving a bank. According to police, who were sent the video, they had received no report of the incident.
However, Solly Manjras confirmed the CCTV footage was theirs and that the incident had taken place in their parking lot. A source close to the case said the man being robbed in the video was a well-known business owner in the Newlands area. “He had been to Standard Bank at Springfield Park, where he withdrew money for his business.
"He was going to get some food from Solly Manjras when he was robbed.”
In the second incident, which took place yesterday, a man was held up on Bartle Road in Umbilo.
Police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said Umbilo SAPS were investigating an attempted murder and armed robbery case in connection with the incident.
She said the 39-year-old man had been returning from a bank in Davenport when he was accosted by four armed men who robbed him of cash, the amount of which was not disclosed.
The man had been shot twice in his right arm and the suspects had fled the scene, she said.
Umbilo Community Policing Forum chairperson Heather Roos said hijackings, armed robberies and an increase in vagrants coming into the area from the bridge at Maydon Wharf were a serious concern. Roos, replying to concerned residents on Facebook, said all CPFs across Durban have been sitting in meetings with the provincial Community Safety and Liaison Department.
“And we will all be working closely with our police stations, as well as with each other as CPFs. Crime has escalated across Durban; this was echoed at these meetings. No area in Durban is not affected as these criminals doing hijackings and armed robberies are travelling around looking for opportunities.”