Attempted abductions part of new KZN car theft trend
Hijackers could be attempting to abduct their victims because they believe motorists know where their vehicle’s tracking device is located.
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Motorists across Durban have been warned to be on high alert following a spike in hijackings and a new trend of the perpetrators attempting to abduct drivers in their vehicles, reports Rising Sun Overport.
The increase and new trend have been noted with concern by armed response officers at Blue Security.
According to a report issued by the security company, one hijacking has been reported every day over the last week. Operations director Brian Jackson said the company received reports of five hijackings and two attempted hijackings across Durban over the past week alone.
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“When considered as an average, that is at least one hijacking being reported to our company every day, and this excludes any additional incidents that we don’t hear of, which may be reported to other local security firms and directly to the police,” Jackson said.
He added: “What has most concerned us about this latest wave of hijackings in the city is that a trend has emerged in which hijackers are now attempting to abduct motorists in their vehicles.”
Jackson said in at least two of the recent incidents, hijackers had succeeded in abducting their victims, and in a further two cases, suspects had attempted to take motorists with them, but the victims had managed to resist them.
Jackson believed a contributing factor to the recent increase in hijackings could be due to the advancement of technology, where a coded or fob key was needed to operate a vehicle, which made the crime somewhat easier with jamming devices.
He said one of the possible reasons hijackers were attempting to abduct their victims could be because they believed the motorists would have information about their vehicle’s tracking device.
“Hijackers mistakenly assume that motorists must be aware of the location of the tracking device installed by vehicle tracking companies. They take the motorist with them in the hope that they will be able to get the location of the device out of them. The reality is that most motorists should have no idea where the vehicle’s tracking device was installed and will not be able to tell hijackers anything,” he stated.
Another reason hijackers abduct their victims is that they hope to stop at an ATM and use their bank PIN to rob them of cash in their bank accounts.
“Fortunately, while the abduction ordeal is extremely traumatic for victims, in most cases the suspects do eventually drop off their victims unharmed,” Jackson revealed.
He said most of the hijackings occurred in residential driveways or outside properties between 7pm and 9:30pm when people were arriving home, while one of the incidents occurred at 7am.
To minimise the risk of a hijacking, the following tips should be followed:
- Motorists should be extremely vigilant when arriving home and avoid turning into a driveway without first checking for any suspicious activity or vehicles following behind them.
- While you’re waiting for the driveway gate to open, keep your cellphone close and unlocked on an emergency contact’s number, or load our mobile panic app, to allow you to call for help at the tap of a button.
- Don’t fall into a rut on your daily travels routes that make you forget to pay attention. Keep your doors locked, your windows shut, and your eyes open.
- If you feel uneasy about a pedestrian or a vehicle parked nearby, or you suspect that you have been followed, rather drive past your property and around the block, before going home. If the vehicle has not moved on, contact your security company for assistance and drive to your nearest police station.
- Should the unthinkable happen, comply with hijackers and step away from the vehicle with your hands clearly visible to show you are not planning to pull out a weapon.
“If you find yourself in a hijacking situation, comply with the hijackers and ask them as calmly as possible to allow family members and children to first safely get out of the vehicle before they take it,” he concluded.
There is no surefire way to ensure this will never happen to you, but there are steps you can take to best help minimise the risk.
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