POLOKWANE – The doors were locked and the windows closed when a 42-year-old man from Mmotong village went to bed on Thursday (October 1) night. By midnight, police say, five masked men armed with firearms were standing in his bedroom.

Seshego police have opened a case of house robbery after the incident at Makgofe, Mmotong village, in the early hours of Friday, October 2.

Intruders in the bedroom

According to police, the man was at home with his family on Thursday at about 21:00, and he locked up before going to sleep. At about midnight, a loud noise woke him. Five unknown men were inside his bedroom, their faces covered.

It is alleged that one of the men pointed a firearm at him and told him to keep quiet.

Two of the suspects stayed with him while the other three went to his mother’s bedroom, broke the door and forced his two siblings and his niece into his room.

Taken from their home

The family was then allegedly tied up with cable ties, forced into the man’s orange double-cab Toyota Hilux and driven to a lodge in Letsokoane village.

There, police say, the suspects ordered him to open the banking app on his cellphone and transferred more than R10 000 from his account.

What was stolen

The family was then driven to the Blood River bridge and dropped off. The suspects allegedly left with the Hilux, two cellphones valued at R51 000 and three bank cards.

Police appeal for information

Police are searching for the suspects.

Anyone with information can contact investigating officer Sergeant Thabo Mabotsa on 061 454 0912, Crime Stop on 08600 10111, the nearest police station or the MySAPSApp.