Armed robberies in the Highway area

A Westville resident and domestic worker were lucky to escape a home invasion unscathed in one of several armed robberies reported in the Highway area over the past week.
Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said a resident was relaxing with a cup of tea in the lounge of her Ranoch Place home in Westville North at 8.26am last Monday when a gang of three men, one armed with a knife and one with a firearm, held her up. “The domestic worker screamed when she saw the suspects and fled, locking herself in a room, while the men demanded jewellery from the resident. They took her through the house looking for valuables but found nothing. They kicked down a passage door but when the house alarm sounded they fled the scene to nearby bushes with a cellphone they had picked up in the lounge. No injuries were reported,” he said.
Westville SAPS attended the scene of the crime.
A gang of robbers fled with an undisclosed sum of cash and a stolen firearm following a brazen cash-in-transit heist in Hill Street in Pinetown at 9.58am on Wednesday. “Three armed men held up a security guard at gunpoint while he was collecting cash from a business premises. They disarmed him and fled with a box of cash in a silver grey BMW,” he said. Pinetown SAPS attended the scene of the crime.
In another incident in Baildon Drive in Waterfall at 11.43am two robbers armed with knives invaded a home and held up the domestic worker. “They tied up her hands and feet and forced her to lie on the bedroom floor while they ransacked the house searching for valuables. Two flat screen televisions were reported stolen,” he said.
Jackson said a resident in Horseshoe Crescent in Waterfall had woken up at 1.07am on Thursday to find two suspects standing at the verandah door of his home. “A radio and speakers that had been left on the verandah was reported stolen,” he said.
Jackson advised residents to always ensure that security gates were locked as criminals were on the look out to take advantage of any potential opportunities. “Unfortunately, criminals stake out neighbourhoods on foot and in vehicles looking for opportunities to strike so any open gates and unlocked doors may attract trouble. Be sure to lock up and to put away valuables such as garden tools and bicycles to keep them out of sight and mind of prying eyes,” he said.