A Penal woman has described a group of bandits who broke into her family’s home and assaulted her and other family members as “devils walking on the earth”.

During the incident which occurred on Monday, the bandits poisoned the family’s pet dog, broke into their home and held the woman, her sister and a teenage nephew hostage while searching for hundreds of thousands of dollars they believed was kept there.

In an ordeal which lasted almost an hour and a half, four men armed with a firearm and cutlasses repeatedly beat the three family members and ransacked the rooms, combing every inch searching for the cash, while in contact via cellphone with an accomplice.