Durban - A Kloof businesswoman was threatened with rape and her son repeatedly assaulted by armed robbers who terrorised them for more than two hours at their Buckingham Road home.
The gang then feasted on food from the family’s fridge before making off with more than R100 000 worth of goods, including three firearms, in one of their luxury cars.
Sharon Goss, who runs a guest house, her son, Struan, and family friend, Cameron Stapleton, were asleep when three armed robbers gained entry into the house through a sliding window on Monday night. Stapleton said he heard noises coming from the window and got up to investigate.
He came face to face with the men who pointed a gun at his head and warned him to be silent.
“They questioned me about who was in the house and where they were sleeping,” Stapleton said. “I was sleeping in the guest bedroom downstairs. One of them took me to the main bedroom where Sharon was sleeping while the other went to look for Struan.”
He said the suspects tied him and Goss to the bed posts using ties and a belt.
“They then demanded jewellery, guns, cash and electronic stuff like iPads and iPods. They were very specific about what they were looking for.”
After 15 minutes, Struan was brought into the room.
“They battled to secure us to the bed posts. One of them went downstairs and fetched three chairs. They tied our hands and legs to the chairs.”
The robbers became violent, insisting they had valuables hidden in the house.
“They assaulted Struan. He suffered a perforated eardrum. They also made suggestions that if we did not co-operate they would rape Sharon.”
He said they were terrified and pleaded for their lives.
“They were in the house for more than two hours. They ate and drank and went through every room. Before they left, they emptied our wallets and took bank cards and cash. Struan and I asked them to leave our driving licences behind. Shockingly they obliged.”
Stapleton, who is asthmatic, said he asked one of the robbers to fetch his inhaler from his room.
“I could feel my chest tightening up. I was afraid of suffering an attack while tied up,” he said. “The guy brought it and left it in my lap.”
He said the robbers stuffed ties into their mouths and covered them with a duvet before fleeing in the family’s Volvo.
“We waited about 10 minutes after they left and managed to wriggle out of the ties and free our hands. We then alerted the police.”
No suspects were arrested, but a tracking company recovered the car in Clermont.
Private investigator, Brad Nathanson, said he had been hired by the family to hunt down the suspects and try to recover the stolen goods.
“These thugs are afraid of nothing. The fact that they were in the house for more than two hours shows they did not fear police or getting caught,” Nathanson said.
He said most of the robbers who operated in the area were high on whoonga and it made them “fearless and bulletproof”.
“People are dying at the hands of these criminals. Something has to be done to stop this bloodshed,” he said.
Police said they were investigating.
Daily News