An angry Port Elizabeth resident wants the Sheriff of the Court to explain why they picked his lock, set off his alarm and rummaged through his property while trying to repossess goods belonging to a former tenant - one who moved out four years ago.
Businessman Murray Gill, 29, who lives in the Lovemore Lake Complex in Lovemore Park, said he was alerted to the presence of people in his home by Atlas Security who phoned him at midday on Tuesday . 
His alarm had been set off. 
Gill, who runs the family business Gillco Labels in Commercial Road, rushed home after being told that two men were inside his house. 
Gill said: “Several zones were going off and I told them [Atlas] to get there  and check what was happening.
"The next thing, I get a phone call from their control room telling me that there are people inside my house. They then told me I need to get there as it was the Sheriff's guys who were inside. 
"They had a bakkie and trailer ready to cart my stuff out of the house." 
Gill said he raced home after telling the Atlas officials to get the people out of his house. 
He arrived home to find two men standing at his open front door after Atlas orderedthem to wait outside.
“They had a locksmith with them who had already picked my door's lock and they had also gone through the entire house already.
"They claimed to be looking for some Congolese guy. I told them that I had rented to that guy four years ago and he was long gone.”
Gill said the deputy sheriffs became arrogant when he questioned them about forcing open his door and rummaging through his house.“When I started questioning why they didn't check before breaking into my house, they told me that they were the law and could do what they wanted.
"They then told me to calm down and just left. It was embarrassing and this entire ordeal could have been avoided if they had just verified their information before breaking into my house.”
Gill said he was considering opening a criminal case of housebreaking and trespassing against the two deputy sheriffs.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the onus was on the Sheriff of the Court to verify the information before going to the house.
“I have consulted with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and this amounts to housebreaking.
"Members of the Sheriff’s office cannot just enter a house, even to attach items, without having followed due process.
"In cases where they expect to get resistance, they need to alert the police and we will accompany them to the address to oversee the execution of the removal of items,” she said.“If no one is at the house they cannot just enter by picking the lock. They need to exhaust all avenues to verify that the person they are looking for, is at that specific address.
"If this fails they need to consult with the police or use their own methods to track down the person.
"They cannot just go into a house when no one is there.”
On Wednesday, Port Elizabeth South Sheriff  Nomonde Nyabaza refused to provide details about the actual incident but claimed they had acted lawfully.
Nyabaza said it was not policy to share details about particular cases but explained how the process worked.
“Often we go to addresses and the people we are looking for have moved. This is a constant problem that we encounter.
“There are several notices served prior to the attachment but only once we arrive at the address to attach assets, are we informed that the person no longer resides there.”
Nyabaza explained that they were given the address via court documents, which ultimately are provided by a lawyer.
“So we are just given an address and told to attach items. We have every right to go into the premises if that is the address which is provided to us,” she said.
 Nyabaza denied that they had broken into houses saying a locksmith was used.
“We use a locksmith to gain entry to houses. We do not and will not break into a house. There is a process and if your items are being attached it is the last step of a lengthy process,” she said.
Nyabaza added that if the deputy has attached the items they would have been kept in storage until the owner came forward to explain that the items did not belong to the person being sought.
“If this is the case, and it does happen, once the person comes and explains that the items are not part of the case, we return all the items at no cost.”
Asked if any due diligence was done to confirm that the person they were looking for lived at that address, Nyabaza said it was not part of their mandate.
“Once we are given the address, we go to the house. In many cases, only once you arrive there, do you find out the person has moved. In some cases, we consult with the body corporate to verify,” she said.
Asked why it was not done in this case, Nyabaza declined to answer. 
Nyabaza explained that when they were given an address and the person had moved, they would leave and inform the lawyer.
“They would then have to go and locate the correct address,” she said.
Nyabaza refused to comment on the specifics of Gill's case.