A Midrand police officer recently appeared at Alexandra Magistrates’ Court for alleged truck hijacking and was given bail of R5 000.
He is alleged to have committed the crime midday on 15 October with four other men who are still at large. He will reappear in court on 25 November for the hearing.
The court heard that the officer, said to be a member of the crime intelligence unit, was arrested at Midrand Police Station on 23 October after he was identified by the driver of the hijacked truck who had gone to the police station to get police documents for insurance purposes.
The incident occured when the driver, ferrying soap worth thousands of rands from Durban to Venda, was waved down on the freeway in Midrand by men who were driving a BMW. They waved down the truck driver, indicatinbg a fault. When he pulled off on the side of the road, the men also stopped their vehicle behind the truck.
Some of the suspects are alleged to have approached the driver in the truck and forced their way into the vehicle. The suspects then drove the truck, with the BMW following, to a deserted area where they dropped the driver off and drove away. Another motorist then stopped for the driver and took him to the Midrand Police Station to report the incident.
The truck was found in Pretoria three days later without the goods and also with its prop shaft missing.