Highway resident tied up in armed robbery
Armed robberies trending in the highway area.
SEVERAL Highway residents were the targets of armed robbers and hijackers during the past week, according to Blue Security’s weekly crime statistics.
The company’s managing director, Henk van Bemmelen, said a Botha’s Hill resident had a lucky escape after being tied up by armed robbers during a home invasion on Friday 29 August.
“Armed robbers targeted a home in Manqoba Reserve Road at around 11.30pm and tied up the resident before they fled the scene with two cellphones and an unspecified number of shoes.
“In a separate incident at 7.30am that morning, a resident was hijacked in Oppenheimer Road in Pinetown where she was held up by two armed men,” he said.
Four men mugged a resident in Woodlands Road in Gillitts at 7am in the morning while she stood waiting for her lift.
“A gang of four men, driving a grey Opel Corsa, mugged the resident and fled with her handbag, cellphone, laptop, iPad and house keys,” he said.
He added that a gang had mugged a pedestrian of his wallet and shoes while he was walking in Harvey Road in Pinetown.
There was also a string of housebreakings reported in Pinetown, Gillits and Westville during the past week.
“In one incident in Nelson Road in Westville housebreakers derailed the driveway gate and forced open the door in the early hours of the morning. They fled with three computers and a television,” he said.
Van Bemmelen urged residents to be security conscious and to vary their routes when travelling between home, work and school every day.
“While a lot of crime is opportunistic, criminals also often stake out properties and their victims before striking. This makes it important to always be aware of one’s surroundings and to report any suspicious individuals or vehicles that you notice parked in your neighbourhood.
“If you have to wait for a lift to and from work, always wait inside your property, behind locked gates and preferably out of sight. Keep your valuables concealed as much as possible and always make sure you have a remote panic button with you while you wait so that you can call for help in case of an emergency,” Van Bemmelen said.
