Hawks got it wrong – resident
MIDRAND - A Midrand resident of 28 years, Craig Shambrook, claimed his home was vandalised and his family's security compromised by the Hawks on 25 July.
He has laid a charge at Midrand Police Station against the Hawks.
Midrand police communications officer, Constable Matome Tlamela, confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property had been opened against the Hawks at the station.
Hawks’ spokesperson, Paul Ramaloko failed to respond to numerous calls and an e-mail inquiring about the matter.
According to Shambrook, the Hawks raided his home without cause, and the warrant that they produced did not have his name on it.
Shambrook said, “At about 10am, my electric fence alarm went off. I stood up and looked out of my office window and saw some armed men with balaclavas
running towards my office. My immediate thoughts were that we were just about to be robbed… Within seconds I had men with balaclavas and gas masks over their faces pointing R5 rifles at me. I could hear other people searching my offices.”
He said he feared for his wife and domestic workers’ safety.
According to Shambrook, the armed men said they were the police.
“I said to myself, they don’t look like police as they are in camouflage and hiding their faces. After about five minutes, some other people arrived and said they were from the Hawks,” said Shambrook.
He was then allowed to see his wife, who had also been held at gunpoint by the armed men with automatic weapons. “Our two domestic workers had suffered the same treatment and were still lying on the floor. The search warrant was only shown to us when we requested it. It was very vague and the name on it was not mine,” said Shambrook.
He said when he looked at his driveway, he saw an armoured vehicle with 15 people dressed in camouflage uniforms who had “an array of weapons”.
“Behind that, were about 10 vehicles with plain cloths police, forensics, a photographer and who knows what else. All in all about 25 people,” said Shambrook.
“The information given to the police was that there was a drug manufacturing factory run by Nigerians on my property,” he added.
“As the police came in, so they left. My domestic worker overheard a policeman saying that they had come to the wrong address.”
