According to the Carletonville police, one of the men was visiting his friend in Reinecke Street at approximately 19:00 on Sunday. As the visit was coming to an end, the two walked back to his gold-coloured Mazda 2 with the registration number ZWS 141 GP. The car belonged to his mother, who had lent it to him for the visit.
They were chatting at the car when a gold-coloured Toyota Hilux bakkie pulled up behind them. Six Zulu-speaking men, one of whom was armed, jumped out and ran towards them.
The armed man immediately cocked his firearm while the others surrounded the friends.
“Whose car is this?” they asked.
When the visitor said it was his mother’s, the thugs demanded to know where the keys were.
After taking them from him, the hijackers grabbed the men and forced them into the back seat. Two sat on either side of their victims, another in front and the other drove the vehicle.
As they drove towards the R501, the hijackers’ two accomplices followed them in their bakkie.
While driving, the robbers asked the visitor what year and model the car was, whether it had already been paid off and whether it had a tracking device.
When the young man confirmed that it had already been paid off and no longer had a tracker, one of the hijackers said he was supposed to tie them up but had forgotten his handcuffs.
He made them remove their shoelaces and used them to tie the men up. The hijackers forced them to put their heads down so they could not see where they were going.
When the car turned left, however, the victims realised that they were turning onto the N12 near Westonaria. The car stopped in front of a place called Chico’s a while later and the men all got out, except the one guarding the victims.
When they returned, the driver noted that the petrol was getting low. The hijackers forced the victims onto the back of their bakkie. Two of them climbed on to guard them. They later stopped at a shop and the victim’s heard their captors discussing that they were going to drop one of the accomplices off. They then drove off with the victims again until the driver suddenly stopped. He ordered them to get out and keep their heads down.
After the hijackers had left, the young men looked around and realised that they were next to Naturena in Johannesburg. They went to a nearby filling station for help. Luckily for them, a police vehicle drove in just as they arrived. They told the police officers of their ordeal and the police drove them back to the Carletonville police station.
Neither of the victims was injured during the incident.
The suspects also fled with one of the men’s Samsung cell phone.
