Truck hijacker gets 12 years
A 23-year-old truck hijacker, called Abednico Mthimkhulu, was sentenced to 12 years direct imprisonment on June 12 at the Benoni Regional Court.
Mthimkhulu was also declared unfit to possess a firearm after he had been charged with hijacking and possession of a stolen truck, when he was arrested on January 29.
Mthimkhulu and two accomplices allegedly hijacked the white Isuzu truck at 12.30pm on January 29, on Thomas Road, Norton’s Home Estates.
“The driver of the truck was alerted by a person who was walking on the road, that there was something wrong with the back wheel of the truck,” said Lieut Nomsa Sekele, Benoni SAPS spokesperson.
“He then stopped to check the wheel, when suddenly a BMW motor vehicle with three occupants stopped next to the truck.”
The victim was forced to get into the car at gunpoint and one of the suspects drove the truck away.
The victim was dropped off somewhere around Johannesburg by the two suspects in the car, after which he managed to alert his employer about the incident.
The employer activated the tracking device in the truck and a lookout was dispatched.
“At about 2.30pm on the same day, the SAPS Flying Squad spotted the hijacked truck around the Lakefield area in Benoni,” said Sekele.
“Mthimkhulu jumped out and tried to flee the scene but the police managed to catch and arrest him.”
Warrant Officer Thomas Matsane was the investigating officer on the case and is still looking for the other two suspects, who are still at large.
