Weekend crime round-up
An overview of crimes reported to Brakpan police from July 15 to 17.
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The following crimes were reported to Brakpan police over the weekend:
Friday – A cellphone and a pair of sunglasses were stolen during a burglary at a residence along Kingsway Avenue.
• A silver Volkswagen Golf was stolen from Voortrekker Road.
• Two hijackings were reported.
The driver of a courier vehicle was hijacked while delivering parcels at Mall@Carnival at about 09:20. The vehicle was abandoned by the culprits but the parcels were stolen.
The driver was waiting for a colleague to return to the vehicle when he was approached by two men. One of the men threatened him with a gun and demanded the keys to the vehicle.
The driver was forced inside the vehicle and the hijackers drove off with him. They turned into Airport Drive and travelled in the direction of Boksburg.
They then pulled off the road and the hijackers met up with other accomplices, who helped unload the parcels from the courier vehicle.
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The driver did not realise the hijackers had fled until he got out of the vehicle and saw he was alone. He pushed a panic button located in the vehicle and called his colleagues from his cellphone.
The second hijacking of the day took place at 12:00 along the N17 highway. The driver of a truck with a cargo of brown sugar stopped just after the Dalpark Plaza tollgate to urinate.
He was travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg. While relieving himself, he was attacked by a man and punched in the face. He found himself being dragged by three men to a Mercedes-Benz parked on the roadside.
Inside the car were four more men and a woman. The woman and one of the men were armed with guns. They drove the victim to an unknown location and parked the car inside a warehouse.
The victim remained in the vehicle along with two of his captors, who kept a watch over him. When it was dark, the hijackers dropped him off in Germiston. The value of the stolen truck and its cargo is estimated at R1.5m.
Saturday – Two burglaries took place. A home in Stormberg Street, Leachville, was burgled of two TVs, a gaming console and other valuables, while a TV and two laptops were stolen from an address along Byron Street in Dalpark.
• A Goods Road supermarket was robbed by a gang of six men, at least three of whom were armed with guns. The robbers entered the store at around 06:00 and approached the man behind the counter.
He was assaulted and robbed of his cellphone and personal documents. The robbers then helped themselves to cartons of cigarettes and cash, and fled the scene.
• A cash-in-transit guard was robbed of his firearm and a cashbox at Mall@Carnival at around 08:55.
The guard had collected the cash from a store in the mall and was heading outside to the cash van when he was confronted by a man at one of the entrances.
The man attempted to block his path and the guard told him to move out of the way. Another man then approached the guard and threatened him with a firearm.
The gunman demanded the cashbox, which the guard handed over. The robber also took the guard’s pistol. The pair then fled the scene on foot with the guard’s colleague in the cash van giving chase.
While the cashbox was recovered, the culprits evaded capture.
Sunday – A car radio was stolen from a vehicle parked at an address along Stoffberg Avenue.
• A woman was robbed at knifepoint after boarding a taxi along Voortrekker Road at around 08:40.
The light yellow taxi had three male occupants, including the driver. Once they have driven off, one of the men threatened the woman with a knife and told her to lie down.
The attacker told the victim he would kill her if she screamed. He took the victim’s handbag and searched it, taking her cellphone.
The man then forced the woman to open the banking app on her phone so he could see how much money was in her account.
With no money to give him, the man forced the victim to phone a friend to transfer money to her account. R2 000 was deposited and the man transferred it to another account.
The victim was then driven to an undisclosed area and told to get out of the taxi. She was given R20 by the robbers so she could get another taxi.