An Umbilo woman needed medical attention on Monday afternoon after robbers cut her rings off her fingers with sidecutters.
Blue Security spokesperson Andreas Mathios said the woman was about to drive out of her garage when a gang of four men, one of whom was armed, held her and her employee up.
A Blue Security armed-response officer arrived at the scene shortly after receiving the panic activation and was told by the gardener that a robbery had occurred on the premises and that his employer had been hurt during the incident.
"The resident and her employee were restrained with cable ties by the suspects and forced into the office, said Mathios. He said the intruders ransacked the office in search of valuables before fleeing with a laptop, desktop computer, camera and two cellphones.
He said the woman was injured when the robbers cut the skin on her fingers while forcing her rings off her hands with a pair of sidecutters. A silver chain was also stolen.
Umbilo police attended the scene as did the paramedics who treated the victim's hand injuries.
Mathios said that a family in Morningside was also held up by a gang of four armed robbers in a home invasion on Monday.
"The suspects arrived at the residence in a vehicle and gained access to the property by derailing the gate," Mathios said.
Two vehicles were stolen as well as two TVs, two laptops, a Playstation and seven cellphones.
The case is under investigation.
On Saturday morning a gang of seven armed men held up staff at a supermarket on Durban's Esplanade.
"An undisclosed amount of cash, cigarettes and cellphones were taken during the armed robbery," Mathios said.
