An elderly woman from KZN was left shaken after her home was raided earlier this week by armed robbers under the guise of police threatening her with a warrant of arrest.

Describing the incident as ‘a real nightmare’, the woman tells the Weekend Witness that a man dressed in police uniform arrived at her gate on Thursday at around midday, demanding that she let him in as he had a warrant for her arrest and had allegedly come to search her home for drugs.

She says the ‘officer’ was accompanied by a woman wearing civilian clothes. Once let into her property, seven other men suddenly appeared and stormed into her home under the pretence of looking for drugs.

“My friend came to visit me, and we were in the kitchen talking. My husband, who is ill, was sleeping in bed. I saw through the pigeonhole in my kitchen that there was a car that had stopped outside my house. It was a white VW Polo. Then I saw a man standing at the gate dressed in a police uniform with a woman, who was holding a file and wearing normal clothes.”

“I went to the door to see what they wanted. The woman said she had a warrant for my arrest and addressed me by my name.

“She told me to open the gate so she could talk to me about the warrant.

“My friend was standing with me. They threatened me and started getting violent. The man seated in the vehicle told me if we didn’t open the gate, they would bring the dog unit. Then the man dressed in uniform said he would jump over the gate if I didn’t open it for them.

“Then I called my neighbour and told him to see what they wanted. I don’t know what they said to him because he told me to open the gate. When the man and woman entered, another white vehicle arrived, and the others just ran into the house. There were nine of them altogether. They all wore blue masks that looked like police ones. One man wore a reflective vest, and another stood in the lounge like a guard, holding a rifle.

“They said they were searching for drugs. They didn’t let us touch our phones. They continued searching and checking all over the house. They even opened the car that was there. They didn’t let my neighbour use his phone either and made him sign a document too.”

“They asked my friend to lift the mattress for them to search underneath. She refused and said she is old and cannot do it. They threw things all over and damaged my daughters’ cupboards,” the woman says.

When her husband woke up to the commotion and opened his bedroom door, the gang rushed into his room and forced him out into the lounge.

“They made my husband stand even though he is unwell.”

“After a while, the man dressed in uniform emerged from the rooms and apologised that they had the wrong house.

“He said they had not found any drugs and then left.

“We then discovered they had stolen R5 000 in cash and my expensive watch.

“They didn’t find drugs, but they took our money and left,” the woman adds.

Neighbour

The neighbour, who witnessed the entire ordeal, says they are glad they were not harmed but are still traumatised over what they experienced.

“It all happened so quickly. When I spoke to them, they said they have a warrant to search the house for drugs, and I even told them, these are respectable people, what is the need to search?

“Then I told the homeowner to open the gate so they could explain further. That is when they all rushed in. It was so fast, we didn’t even get to see which direction they came from. They refused to show me the warrant when I asked. That was when I knew something was wrong. Then they just began searching for the place. They took money, but we are glad that nothing happened to us. We were just so scared the entire time,” the neighbour adds.

UKZN Crime researcher

Commenting on the worrying modus operandi that appears to be on the rise, crime research fellow at the University of KZN School of Law, Mary de Haas, says it is difficult to pinpoint where civilians are getting uniforms from to commit crimes.

“If service guns go missing and are stolen, how much easier is it to get a police uniform? This is becoming a common issue, but it is difficult to say exactly where they are getting these uniforms from,” she adds.

“My advice to the community if they are approached by any SAPS member is to ask for official documents and try to get the registration of the vehicle. This is vitally important. Don’t just allow them onto your property. Any form of identification could be counterfeit, and number plates can be cloned, so these days, one has to check and be very cautious.”

“Long ago, there were very underhanded ways of procuring uniforms, and this could still be going on. Nothing is transparent anymore,” says De Haas.

Mountain Rise SAPS spokesperson Warrant Officer Panchael Julius Singh says a case of housebreaking is being investigated, and the suspects are still at large.

“A task team is investigating the matter, and investigations are ongoing,” says Singh.

Singh adds that the vehicle used in the robbery was cloned.