Peacevale residents have vowed to take the law into their own hands after yet another spate of dog poisonings and an armed robbery in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The Naicker couple awoke at around 3.30am to find a firearm thrust in their faces and a group of armed men in their bedroom at 131 Hajee Jamal Street.
The husband, who is a policeman at Helpmekaar, said the brazen men – five in total – demanded jewellery, firearms and cash.
“Two other men were in my brother’s bedroom. Only one of men wore a face covering. I have had an operation and I am currently off duty so my state firearm was at the police station. However, they took all our wedding jewellery including items my wife inherited from her gran. They even removed my wife’s earrings and our cellphones. They also took my police uniform, handcuffs, pepper spray and reflective jacket.”
Later, the men forced his wife, brother and their mother into one room.
They said the scariest part was men one of the men cocked his firearm and showed them the magazine, telling them he ‘is going to test the firearm on them’.
“One of the others told him they had to go. They then wanted to know who was in the outbuilding.. The men took our car keys and left telling us they will be back. After half-an-hour or so the sun was coming up and the men did not return.”
The men never entered the outbuilding. However an inspection of the garden revealed that three of their big dogs had been poisoned to death. Pieces of poisoned meat, inside plastic bags, had left lying around. Entry into the secured premises was through the neighbour’s garden after the wire fence had been cut.
Later, in the morning Percy Pillay, who lives two houses away, found that both of his pitbull dogs had also been poisoned to death. However, there were no signs of a break-in at his house. The Naickers were also upset that police took over half-an-hour to respond.
Residents who spoke to the Courier said Peacevale was becoming crime-ridden. “This is the seventh such incident in the area where dogs have been poisoned and people robbed while in their homes. We need some kind of neighbourhood watch to protect us. No one is safe and there is no one to protect us,” said Vernon Naicker who is a cousin to the family that was attacked.