A gunshot and a rock shattering a glass door preceded possibly the country’s most “polite” robbery in years.

On Thursday night, a Hankey farmer and his wife were left baffled by the “humane” treatment they received from a group of armed men who barged into their home, held them at gunpoint and ransacked the property — but were nice enough to leave behind some items the owners had asked for, including a bottle of whisky...