Lights out for blue light hijackers
It didn’t take long for the Task Team to get on the hijackers’ trail and within hours of the car being recovered a suspect was located.
In what local police have described as a “major success”, a group of men suspected of being responsible for a spate of blue light hijackings in Brakpan and the surrounding areas have been arrested by the Brakpan Trio Task Team.
The men were nabbed on Wednesday, last week, following a hijacking in Sonneveld the previous evening.
According to information received from the Brakpan SAPS, the 59-year-old female driver of a silver Mercedes-Benz was robbed of her vehicle along Civin Road at 8.40pm on Tuesday evening by men posing as police officers.
After noticing a white car with flashing blue lights behind her, the victim pulled over and was approached by a man who asked her why she had skipped the stop sign.
This “officer” was joined by another man who asked the woman for her driver’s licence and instructed her to get out of the car and open the boot.
The man then pulled out a gun and pointed it at the victim.
She was instructed to get back into her car and was forced to tell the hijackers the pin number for her bank card.
After keeping her captive for several hours, the hijackers dropped the victim off at Carnival City.
The Mercedes-Benz was found abandoned in Dawn Park, Boksburg, but the victim’s belongings, which included a laptop, handbag, cellphones and other personal items, were stolen.
It didn’t take long for the Task Team to get on the hijackers’ trail and within hours of the car being recovered a suspect was located in Dawn Park.
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The team then proceeded to an address in Boksburg where a second suspect was found along with the vehicle used in the hijacking, a white Hyundai i20.
Further investigations took the team to a guesthouse in Boksburg, where another two suspects and a firearm were found.
Police later confirmed the firearm was stolen in Bramley, Johannesburg, about two months ago.
Keys, documents and other items belonging to the victim were also recovered.
At an address in Windmill Park, Boksburg, a blue light – believed to have been used in the Sonneveld hijacking and others – was found.
Aged between 20 and 33, the suspects, three of whom are out on bail for hijacking, face numerous charges.
The case has been linked to a hijacking that took place in Eden Park, Alberton, earlier this year and police are investigating further connections.
The Herald is aware of at least one other case which bears striking similarities to the Sonneveld case.
While en route to Heidelberg on June 6, the driver of a white Toyota Hilux bakkie transporting goats was hijacked along Heidelberg Road, near Carnival City.
The man and his nephew were pulled over by three bogus policemen at about 8.30pm.
The “cops”, who were travelling in an unidentified car with a blue light, first demanded to inspect the cargo but then pointed guns at the pair.
They were driven to a veld where they were robbed of their belongings, which included bank cards and a cellphone, and tied up with rope.
One gunman was left to watch over them, while the others went to withdraw money from the victims’ accounts.
The hijackers returned to fetch their accomplice and drove off in the bakkie.
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