On Friday, 18 March, a truck driver with two trailers full of disposable baby nappies was travelling on the R501, known to many locals as the “P111”. As he neared the turn-off to East Driefontein mine at approximately 15:45, the driver saw a white Toyota double-cab bakkie with a blue light behind him. The occupants, dressed as traffic officers, indicated that he should stop. The truck driver followed their instructions and brought his vehicle to a standstill on the side of the road. Once the “traffic officers” got to the driver, they pulled him from his truck and forced him into the back of their bakkie. The hijackers drove the driver towards Johannesburg and eventually released him at Primrose near Germiston. He sought help and notified the police. Luckily, the truck’s satellite tracking system was still working and police traced the vehicle, its trailers and all its contents down in Lenasia. They also arrested seven suspects. At about 14:00 on Saturday, another truck driver stopped at the intersection of the N14 and the R500 on his way from Nigel to Botswana. His truck was loaded with structural steel. He suddenly felt something was wrong with the vehicle and stopped to look. He was checking the brakes when a group of unknown men in a Volkswagen stopped next to him. They overpowered the driver from the back and forced him into their vehicle. They drove with him for some time before dropping him on the side of the road. The truck and its contents, worth approximately R1,8 million, have still not been recovered. Yet another hijacking, which also involved a kidnapping, took place on Saturday. A woman was the only passenger in a taxi in Khutsong Extension 5 at approximately 19:00. Three men appeared next to the vehicle when it stopped at the corner of Joe Slovo and Marula streets. They pulled out a knife and dragged the woman out of the vehicle. They then jumped in and drove off with the driver. The passenger immediately reported the incident to the police. A Carletonville detective, Const. Thabo Kharejane, recovered the vehicle elsewhere in Khutsong Extension 5 the next morning. Although the Carletonville policing precinct does not fall within the top 30 police stations in the country where the most hijackings occur, it made its way up to No 10 on this national list for the most kidnappings. According to police statistics released last month, almost half of the kidnappings reported in Gauteng from October to December last year were related to hijackings.
