uMhlanga mother and son followed from bank and robbed

AN uMhlanga mother and son were followed from a bank in Durban central and were robbed by a brazen gang of armed men on Riverside Road in broad daylight. The incident occured at about 1pm on Tuesday. The residents who are travelling to India later this month had been shopping in town and had bought a suitcase and then visited two banks (FNB and al Baraka) enquiring about the dollar-rand exchange rates.

According to the Lt Raymond Deokaran, Durban North SAPS spokesman, the duo were on their way home when the son said he desperately needed the toilet.

“The mother then took the Riverside M4 offramp and pulled into a layby along the road. As the son began to relieve himself, they noticed a royal blue BMW slowly drive past them, then hastily make a u-turn,”  he said.

The vehicle then drove in behind them to prevent their getaway. Four men jumped out the car, armed with pistols and R5 assault rifles. The men pointed the weapons at the duo and repeatedly shouted ‘where’s the money, where’s the dollars?’.

The resident was then dragged from her car while the men frantically stripped her vehicle. She managed to flag down a passing motorist who immediately called the police.

“The suspects, in their haste to get away, pried open the boot and took the suitcase, which was empty, and the resident’s car keys. They drove off in the direction of North Coast Road. The registration of the BMW was traced and found to be legitimate, however upon further investigation we found the number plates had been cloned,” he said.

Deokaran added police were investigating if there was an informant used at either of the banks or if the men were spotted at the banks in question, pretending to be customers.