Body of murdered Tongaat businessman found wrapped in blood-soaked blanket

During the early hours of the morning, the Reaction Unit South Africa’s Tongaat operations centre received a call from a man, who stated that while walking past the residence, he noticed that the back door and gate to the house opened. He also noticed blood on the floor.

The operations centre also received calls from employees, who arrived at the premises and noticed the house ransacked after they looked through a window, Phoenix Sun reports.

“Reaction officers from Tongaat and Ballito were immediately dispatched to the property and upon arrival, called out at the back door. A man from inside the home responded when reaction officers entered. An elderly male was found in the kitchen. His clothing was covered in blood. He had been stabbed at least four times,” said head of RUSA, Prem Balram.

He informed officers that he and his son operated a fruit and vegetable distribution business from the property.

“This morning, he opened up for one of his employees, who was expected to transport a load of bananas to the market. His employee, a South African national, with three other men, held him up and forced him into the warehouse. They repeatedly stabbed and assaulted him before locking him in a cold room in the warehouse. After some time, the victim managed to free himself and make his way back into the home. The suspects had already fled,” he added.

The victim informed reaction officers that his son should also be in the residence, however, he could not be located. He assumed that his son had gone in search of the suspects as he noticed his firearm was missing from the safe.

Officers entered the house and found blood on one of the beds.