According to the police in Carletonville, several such crimes were reported in the past week.
“We suspect the hijackers are not local criminals but drive here to commit their crimes. There has been an increase in serious crimes all over Gauteng and this seems to be part of that trend,” says a police officer with whom the Herald spoke this week.
In one such incident, a man from the area was driving his Toyota Voxy past Khutsong Extension 5 when hijackers targeted him at around 11:00 on Monday. A Toyota Voxy is a vehicle similar to a Toyota Avanza and is sold in Lesotho.
The man was nearing Welverdiend when he suddenly noticed a Toyota Corolla behind him. The car’s driver and passengers gestured that there was something wrong with his car and that he should stop.
Once the driver got out of the Voxy, he saw three men from the Corolla walking towards him. They asked him about his vehicle and then about its documents. The men then lurched forward and grabbed the driver. They overpowered him and forced him into the Corolla. One of the thugs got into his vehicle and drove off with it. The hijackers dropped the driver in Krugersdorp, where he immediately opened a case with the police.
In another incident, a driver was hijacked while driving past Sibanye-Stillwater’s 7 Shaft at about 13:30 on 15 January. The man was driving a 2013 model Toyota single-cab bakkie.
He suddenly noticed a white vehicle behind him and the driver indicated that he should stop. Another car also drove up, and as it passed him, the driver signalled for him to pull over. This vehicle pulled up on the side of the road too.
As the driver came to a standstill, an armed man jumped out of the second vehicle and forced him into his car.
The driver was later dropped at the side of the road.
Another incident happened at around 07:30 on 13 January. The truck driver was transporting a load of bricks from Johannesburg and turned onto the P111 towards Carletonville. He suddenly noticed a silver Honda with five occupants behind him. They started gesturing at him to stop as there was some-thing wrong with the truck. The driver had just brought the vehicle to a standstill when a white Toyota Corolla also stopped next to him. The stranger claimed to have seen sparks at the back of the truck. Suddenly, two occupants in the Honda jumped out and grabbed the truck driver. They forced him into their car while their accomplices drove off in the truck. The driver was later dropped on the side of the road.
One of the week’s hijackings at least had a happier ending. A man was driving his white Ford Ranger bakkie to Rustenburg when a group of armed men in a BMW 3 Series sedan hijacked the vehicle. The incident occurred at the Olifantsnek T-junction on the night of 14 January.
The hijackers pulled the driver from the bakkie, forced him into their car and took him to the Patiki area towards Carletonville. They tied him up and dropped him on the side of the road.
Luckily, a group of farmers patrolling the area saw the vehicles’ lights and rushed to the scene. After the driver had told them what had happened, they raced after the hijackers.
The suspects decided to abandon the man’s Ford bakkie during the chase and raced away in their BMW. The farmers recovered the bakkie with only minor damage and a damaged wheel and took the driver and the vehicle to the police station in Carletonville.
Anyone who thinks they might have information that could assist the police in tracking down any of the hijackers should call the Carletonville detective services at 018 787 9345.
