Three knife-wielding men robbed a 42-year-old woman inside her Walker Gardens townhouse in Walker Drive, Sherwood, early on Thursday.
The police helicopter, K9 unit and security officials spent hours searching for the men.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the woman woke to find three men standing in her bedroom.
“They demanded money. She gave them some cash and they took her laptop, cellphone and other goods and left. Her hands were tied to the bedpost with curtain tie-backs.”
Once the suspects fled, the woman managed to free herself and alerted a neighbour.
Police later found some of the stolen items in the yard.
In a separate incident at 1am, four men – two with firearms – broke into a house in Edwin Crescent in Scheepershoogte, Uitenhage.
“Two occupants were tied up and the suspects stole electrical appliances, a plasma television, a laptop, a camera and two cellphones,” police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said.