Thieves who stole a modified BMW racing car from the locked garage of a Queensburgh home poisoned two pet dogs to avoid detection.
|||Durban - Thieves who stole a modified BMW racing car from the locked garage of a Queensburgh home poisoned two pet dogs to carry out their deed undetected.
The dogs were found dead on the verandah of their owner’s home after the thieves cut the padlock on the driveway gate in the early hours of Saturday.
Homeowner Bambi Khan said she had been woken by the sound of people talking in her yard.
She thought it was the tenant, Gavin, arriving home late.
Gavin, who did not want his surname published, said that when he heard noises, he looked through a window, and in the darkness, caught a glimpse of a car leaving.
He said he had also seen the shadows of three men carrying torches.
“I scrambled around in the dark to find the keys to my door. When I got out, I saw the garage door open and my car gone,” he said.
“I heard the car start further down the road and take off at high speed.”
The stolen car is a 1988 BMW 325 iS.
Gavin said his other car, a BMW E36 model, was parked in the driveway next to Khan’s VW Polo and in front of the garage door.
The thieves had manoeuvred the stolen car from inside the garage, around the Polo and rolled it down the driveway, he said.
That morning, Khan discovered her dogs, Diesel, a 9-month-old Rottweiler cross Husky, and Cindy, a year-old Africanis breed, dead on the front verandah.
They were lying in their own vomit, said Khan.
Gavin said he had been rebuilding his BMW for the past seven years for competitive racing and had spent R70 000 on tuning the engine.
He said the model was much sought after in the racing fraternity. “This incident is uncalled for.
“Why did they have to kill the dogs? It is an absolute shock,” he said. “It was done in such a callous, insensitive manner. They did not want the dogs to bark.
“The incident has left me empty and gutted. I am out of focus. I put my heart and soul into the car.”
Gavin said he was hoping to compete in BMW club events in the amateur category time trials.
The police arrived 10 minutes after they were called, but there was no sign of the thieves, he said.
Bellair police are investigating.
Daily News