Pietermaritzburg - While brazen burglars were breaking into a Hilton house on Tuesday afternoon, the homeowner watched the live feed from his CCTV camera to his phone in horror as the men opened his gate and entered his house.
Hilton resident and Natal Canoe Club general manager Steve Botha said he had unlocked his phone while at the club only to see a strange vehicle parked at the front of his gate.
With the CCTV footage linked to his phone, he was able to watch the entire burglary as it happened.
He said as soon as he saw the men, he called his security company; however, because the burglars had already gained entry into his yard, he knew there “was nothing” he could do.
He said one of the burglars jumped over his electric gate and opened the motor box.
He said the man was able to override the motor and open the gate for the other burglars to enter the property.
“They knew what they were doing,” said Botha.
The bold burglars smashed through the front door with a pick axe and entered the house. One is seen leaving the home a few minutes later carrying a large flat-screen TV.
When the TV did not fit into the charcoal Audi A4 they were driving, the men returned it and left it near the garage.
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Botha said the men stole an amplifier, two pairs of motorbike riding boots and the keys to his bakkie, which was parked in the garage.
The men can be seen in the video trying to open the garage door to get to the bakkie, but are unsuccessful.
Botha said many houses in the Hilton Gardens area had been broken into within the last few weeks.
The same Audi A4 was involved in a housebreaking in the Townhill area on Tuesday, with some security groups reporting the car had also been seen at the site of a housebreaking in Cleland and an attempted housebreaking in Hayfields, although this could not be confirmed.
Pietermaritzburg police spokesperson Sergeant Mthokozisi Ngobese said on Wednesday it appeared a housebreaking syndicate was in operation in Pietermaritzburg.
“We are aware that this is happening in other areas as well as other parts of the province, but we want to warn our citizens to always be vigilant and report any strange or suspicious activity in business and residential areas,” said Ngobese.
He said uMgungundlovu South cluster commander Major-General Phumelele Makoba will be establishing a task team to deal with syndicate.
“We want to catch the big guns behind these housebreakings and house robberies,” said Ngobese.
He said the burglars seemed to be after flat-screen TVs and other technological gadgets.
