Robbers party in house after tying up occupants

SO BRAZEN were a gang of violent house robbers, who raided a Westville home and accosted the occupants while they slept, that as their victims lay tied up, the gang took a break from ransacking the premises to party at the bar.

When the two-hour ordeal was finally over and 54-year-old homeowner Philip Oxenham was freed, he found the floor of his entertainment area littered with cigarette butts. His liquor was gone. But as the latest victim in a string of violent home invasions that have rocked the Outer West suburbs in recent months, Oxenham said he was just grateful no one was hurt.

“Thankfully my wife was overseas and my daughter was at her boyfriend’s house,” he said.

Oxenham, an upstairs tenant, and a business colleague of Oxenham’s were at home at the time of the invasion, which began just after 3.30am on Tuesday. As the men slept, five to six gunmen somehow bypassed Oxenham’s two large dogs, gaining entry to the house by “popping” the lock on the glass doors at the back of the house.

“They wore balaclavas and gloves and they all had guns. One had two guns,” Oxenham said.

First, two of them went upstairs where they woke Oxenham’s tenant, tied him up and demanded cash.

The others charged through the passageway and Oxenham woke to find one of them standing at his bedside.

“At first, I didn’t believe what was happening,” he said. “I thought I was dreaming.”

Another gunman came racing through and Oxenham was hit and bundled under the duvet. A pillow was placed over his head.

“They told me not to get up,” he said, “and tied my hands and feet.”

The gunmen found Oxenham’s colleague and tied him up too.

The gang then turned the house contents upside down, gathering valuable items including the CCTV system, iPads, iPhones and flat screen televisions, before demanding the keys to Oxenham’s minibus and loading the loot into the vehicle.

Eventually, the gunmen returned to Oxenham’s room. They moved him to an adjacent room where he was joined by his tenant and colleague.

The men were tied to chairs with straps and cable ties and towels were placed over their heads.

“They told us if we didn’t do anything, they wouldn’t shoot us,” said Oxenham.

After the robbers had fled – in the minibus and a Volkswagen Golf belonging to Oxenham – the men freed themselves and alerted the authorities.

Using “Find my iPhone”, Oxenham said police tracked his property later that morning.

Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said after an intensive investigation by Westville police with KwaDabeka police and the Durban K9 unit, the stolen vehicles were found hidden in KwaDabeka on Tuesday.

Police followed up on information about the whereabouts of the suspects and went into a house where stolen goods were stored, Zwane said.

“The suspects allegedly started to shoot at police, who retaliated, fatally shooting one,” he said. The others escaped. The vehicles and goods taken in the robbery were recovered, Zwane said.