A teenager had her finger bitten for her gold ring while a family was tear-gassed and terrorised by armed robbers, in separate home invasions in Durban.
In a third incident, a mother was having breakfast with her children when they were confronted by six armed suspects.
In the first incident, CCTV footage which has since gone viral, captured four masked gunmen holding up a family shortly after they arrived at their Barondale Avenue home in Newlands West, last Wednesday.
Carl Naicker, his wife, their two children, as well as his wife’s sister and her three children - who were visiting from Johannesburg - had just returned from a family trip at about 5pm when they were confronted by the robbers.
Said Naicker: “When I got to my driveway gate, there were no cars behind me. I opened the gate, and as soon as I drove in, I pressed the remote to close it.
“We all jumped out of the van and my wife and her sister went to the back of the house through the side gate on the property to take off the clothes from the line as it had started to rain.
“My son who looked towards the gate, saw it was still open and told me. I pressed the remote again and it still didn’t close, so I pressed it again and turned away to open the house gate and door.
“Less than a second later, my son screamed, ‘dad’, and as I looked towards the gate, four men came running up with guns. They had pushed the gate back as it was closing. They ran straight towards me and demanded my gun and safe keys. I told them I didn't have a gun. They then swore and told me ‘open, open’ the house gate and door. One of them pulled me inside by my belt,” he said.
Naicker, who owns a medical supplies company, said while inside, the gunman searched his pockets.
“He took my cellphone and money and ordered me to sleep flat on the ground or he would shoot me,” he said.
After a short while, the rest of his family were pushed inside and the men started demanding their belongings and started removing their jewellery.
Naicker’s daughter, Nadine, 16, said while still outside, she tried to fight off one of the men, as he removed her cellphone from her short’s pocket and her gold Kruger-coin ring.
“I was not going to let him take away my belongings so easily. But, he was rough handling me as he tried to take out my phone, and then he bit my finger trying to get my ring off, before he pushed me inside the house. I kept trying to push them out of the house, and one of the men pushed my face. I was very angry at that moment and only noticed my finger was bleeding afterwards.
“I only calmed down after they threatened to shoot my dad, and I put my body over his to protect him,” she said.
Naicker said the men ransacked their bedrooms and took various items including jewellery, laptops and his wife’s bag which contained her personal documents, as well as their house and car keys.
“It all happened in less than five minutes. I wasn’t fearful and I could have pressed the panic button as I had the remote in my hand, but I was worried about what they would do to my family. However, the car alarm went off and I think they got scared and fled.
“As they were running, we got up to chase after them and that is when they fired five shots. One of the bullets hit my vehicle, and the others the house. They jumped into a waiting getaway car and fled,” he said.
Naicker said the family wanted the suspects to face the consequences for their actions.
“They must face the law for the crimes that they have committed. It is frustrating as I have been living in this house, which I built more than a decade ago, and this is the first time we have had such an incident.
“For the past two years, we have noted an increase in crime in the area. Not too long ago another resident was a victim of a home invasion and they fled with her vehicle. These guys are just looking for any opportunity. It is also evident that they are remote jamming and I urge residents to be more vigilant,” he said.
Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a provincial police spokesperson said Newlands East police were investigating a case of house robbery.
Two days later, six suspects were arrested after they allegedly invaded a house in 36th Avenue in Bayview, Chatsworth, on January 5.
The suspects were apprehended after a foot pursuit by members of various security companies, and law enforcement.
Colonel Netshiunda, said Chatsworth police had arrested the suspects for house robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms.
It was alleged that a mother was having breakfast with her children when she heard the gate opening, he said.
“In a blink of an eye, six unknown males came into the house. Three of them had firearms and demanded her belongings. The suspects took cellphones and jewellery and fled the home.
“As they were leaving the premises, a member of the public saw what was happening and fired shots. The driver of the suspects' getaway vehicle drove away upon hearing the shots, leaving the suspects running into the nearby bush,” he said.
Netshiunda said police and security companies quickly responded and arrested the suspects aged between 21 and 28.
“Three firearms were found on the suspects, two were replica firearms and one was an unlicensed 9mm firearm. The stolen property was also recovered and handed back to the owner,” he said.
A Verulam family was allegedly robbed and tear gassed after four armed men entered their home on Sunday.
Prem Balram, the head of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), said four suspects were being sought for a home invasion that occurred on Marula Circle, Trenance Park, in Verulam on January 7.
He said RUSA’s operations centre received a call for assistance at about 2.30pm.
“Reaction officers were immediately dispatched and on arrival were informed that the robbers entered the yard over the rear boundary wall. They confronted the family of four which included a 67-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy, and demanded cash and cellphones.
“Two of the victims were tear gassed before the suspects fled through a dense bush at the rear of the property,” he said.
Saajen Maniraj, the deputy chairperson of the Trenance Park Old Phase Community Police Sub Forum(CPSF), said crime in the area had escalated since December last year.
“There has been a substantial increase in armed robberies, home invasions and theft of copper meters and pipes. These incidents occur randomly, however home invasions and robberies are occurring in the day, and copper theft at night,” he said.
Maniraj said criminals were using excessive force against residents and were armed with knives, pepper spray and other weapons.
“To clamp down on crime, the CPSF has embarked on having more visibility in the area. However, due to most members being at work during the day, it's a task to have a 24 hour presence, but we are trying our best to alleviate the problems,” he said.
Faizal Soosiwala, the public relations officer of the Newlands West CPF, said there had been an increase in crime in the area over the past decade.
“We have seen an escalation from petty crimes to more serious crimes such as home invasions, hijackings and drive-by shootings of recent.
“On average, there are at least three home invasions every week. Furthermore, criminals are using more and more force. No mercy is shown to the elderly or the young,” he said.
Soosiwala said, since the initiation of the CPF, crime had declined in areas where the residents worked effectively with them.
“ Our members are also always out on the streets, observing, identifying, and developing effective strategies to curb crime. However, we have noted that there is a lack of community engagement. We call on residents to join us so that we can achieve greater success in combating crime,” he said.
