DURBAN - Umbilo police are investigating a case of robbery and kidnapping after an elderly woman was allegedly kidnapped and robbed of her belongings earlier this week.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said it was alleged that on March 15 at 11am, the complainant was at a shopping centre in Glenwood when she was approached by two women who asked for her assistance. After she finished shopping she noticed the same women standing outside the shop.
“Suddenly a car stopped next to her with two unknown men who grabbed her and pushed her into their vehicle. The two women also jumped in and they drove towards Umlazi where they purchased alcohol from different liquor stores using her bank cards. The suspects dropped her in Lotus Park (south of Durban) and drove away,” Gwala said.
Reports suggest that the woman was taken from Hunt Road and not from inside Glenwood Village Mall.
A woman believed to be the elderly woman’s daughter shared her mother’s experience with a local community police forum.
The woman said the assailants forced her mother into the car at gunpoint.
“She was beaten up, they withdrew money, went to different shopping malls while she was kept in the car at gunpoint. They left her in Umlazi in the bush at about 4pm, where she was found by two ladies who helped her call us,” her daughter said.
She added that they were “grateful to God that she was alive and back home”, and said it was clear the kidnappers had targeted her while she was still inside the shop.
“She’s 65 years old. They didn’t care, they beat her up with guns, slapped her around, and strangled her even though she had given them the pin numbers,” she said.
She advised people to be careful at malls and said that shopping centres were no longer safe.
“Please stay alert and keep safe. With the wearing of masks it is difficult to identify these criminals’ faces on the (CCTV) footage.”
She added that the same thing happened to a friend’s husband in Johannesburg in February, but he was killed after the criminals had taken all his money.
She said this type of crime took place all over South Africa.
“Please stay alert when coming out of the shops.”
The Daily News was informed about two similar crimes in which women were kidnapped from malls and shopping centres, then taken to ATMs and malls, to withdraw their money.
The incidents involved two healthcare workers, one an elderly retired nurse and the other a practising nurse.
They happened in and around Durban.
Daily News