A WELL-KNOWN car racing enthusiast relived his ordeal at the hands of five armed hijackers who accosted his family and opened fire on a relative and friend who had gone to help them.
Collin Naidoo, 55, his wife and their daughter were attacked and robbed while on their way to a relative’s birthday party in Havenside, Chatsworth, on Friday evening.
With no parking at the party venue, Naidoo said he had to park his Toyota Hilux GR bakkie at the nearby home of another relative. His family was with him in the vehicle at the time. The owner of the house, who would only be identified as Mr A Naidoo, was also with the family.
They parked the bakkie inside the yard, on the corner of Imperial Road and Marble Arch, and were unpacking the snacks to take to the party when a group of armed men approached them.
“They pointed guns at us and made us lie down on the ground. They roughed us up and took our cellphones, wallets and keys. There were five of them.
“While I was lying on the ground, I slid my phone under another car,” said Naidoo.
“While we were on the ground, we heard a house panic alarm go off. The people at the party house saw what had happened and pressed the panic button to alert the security company.
“At this point, the hijackers panicked. One of them jumped into my bakkie and tried to reverse out of the yard. But, another relative had parked his Polo at the entrance of the gate, blocking the driveway. They pulled him out of his vehicle and assaulted him badly. His mother was also in the car. She tried to run away but they caught her and took her cellphone,” said Naidoo.
He said they made no attempt to steal the Polo.
“It appeared the hijackers had come by car and parked close to the house where they attacked us. One of the suspects was in my bakkie, the other in the getaway car and the three others were walking on the road with guns,” Naidoo said.
He said he then heard gunshots. “Relatives and friends from the party, who had seen what had happened, ran to assist us. They did not realise the gunmen were on the road. As they ran towards us, the suspects opened fire on them. One of our relatives was shot in the arm and a friend sustained a gunshot wound to his back,” Naidoo said.
Naidoo said they all ran for cover and the suspects fled in the two vehicles.
Both the injured men were taken to hospital.
Naidoo said, in addition to his van being stolen, about R40 000 worth of racing gear and R25 000 of fishing equipment, which had been stored in the bakkie, were also taken.
KZN police spokesperson, Thenjiswa Ngcobo, said Bayview police were investigating a case of hijacking.
Recovering in hospital, one of the relatives who was shot said he was in a lot of pain and undergoing physiotherapy to regain the use of his arm.
“Everything happened really fast. I’m just happy we are all alive,” he said.
Claude Subramodey from Amawele Ambulance Services confirmed that both victims sustained gunshot wounds.
Allen Mudaly, Treasurer of the Havenside Safety and Security Forum, who lives just metres away from the scene, said he was alerted to the incident on a crime group chat.
Mudaly said crime had not been a problem in the area until this incident.
“Just after 7pm, a flood of messages came through on my chat referring to the hijacking and shooting on Imperial Road.
“When I got there, the security companies were already in attendance.
“The police came around 45 to 60 minutes after the crime was reported. We understand that police are underresourced but this is an ongoing problem in our community. Police do not respond with urgency and criminals know that they can get away,” said Mudaly.
“I am not saying that Bayview police are not doing their job, but they are a small station with few staff that is expected to cover a large area. They do not have enough resources to police the precinct.
“Friday’s hijacking was honestly something that happened after a long time. Crime and hijackings in Havenside used to be very bad because of the easy access and exit through Bulbul Drive,” he said.
The POST