Hijackings have been a dominant crime reported to Brakpan SAPS recently and motorists are warned to be vigilant.
According to local police, four hijackings took place in Brakpan in just three days.
On Friday, the driver of a Volkswagen Passat was robbed of his vehicle at the corner of Hospital Road and Van Lingen Street in Brakpan North at around 19:30.
While approaching a stop sign, a dark-coloured SUV or bakkie pulled out in front of the victim’s car, blocking his path.
The victim and his passenger were approached by two gunmen, who forced them out of the vehicle.
The pair was placed in the hijackers’ vehicle and driven around for about an hour before being released in a secluded area.
The victim was also robbed of his jewellery. It is believed there were at least four hijackers involved.
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On Saturday, the driver of a blue Ford Ranger bakkie was targeted by hijackers along Heidelberg Road, near Withok Estates.
This incident took place at around 09:30 and the victim was held captive until later that evening. The victim’s path was blocked by two vehicles, a blue BMW and an unidentified white bakkie.
Two men armed with guns forced the victim to the backseat of his vehicle and told him to close his eyes. After a half-hour trip, they arrived at a house where the victim was taken out of the vehicle and assaulted.
At around 19:00, they returned his cellphone, house keys and wallet to him and dropped him off along the N3 highway, near Lombardy East.
The victim then phoned his brother. It was soon discovered over R50 000 had been withdrawn from the victim’s bank account. While no hijackings occurred on Sunday, there were two incidents on Monday.
At around 13:00, the driver of a white Isuzu bakkie was attacked by two gunmen when he stopped at a stop sign along Denne Road in Witpoort, near the N17 toll plaza.
A grey Renault Sandero stopped behind him and two of its occupants approached him and jumped in his bakkie.
They covered his face with a cloth and drove around with him.
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The hijackers took the victim’s cellphone and demanded the pin for his bank accounts. They withdrew up to R18 000.
They later dropped him off in an open veld. Later that evening, at around 20:40, a Leachville woman was robbed of her vehicle as she arrived at her Blyde Avenue home.
She parked her silver Opel Corsa outside and got out of the car to open the gate. As she was about to return to the car, she saw two men standing by the passenger side of her vehicle.
A third man was inside the car and appeared to be looking for the car keys, which the victim was holding. He got out of the car and saw her with the keys.
A struggle between the two ensued and the hijacker pulled out a gun and fired a shot. One of his accomplices also had a gun, which he fired into the air.
The hijacker wrestled the keys from the victim and the trio got into the Corsa and drove off.
