A taxi full of passengers was hijacked by two suspects posing as passengers in Newtown on the corner of Market Street and Main Road on 29 July.
Sophiatown Police corporate communications officer, Lieutenant Colonel Julia Claassen said that the incident happened at about 6.45 pm when a white Toyota Quantum with the vehicle registration, FC 73 PW GP was coming from Clearwater Mall with 15 passengers inside.
Claassen said that the complainant had dropped off a female passenger when a male passenger came to sit close to the driver’s seat. The passenger pulled out a knife while another passenger pulled the driver out of his seat. The passengers and the driver were told to lie down by the two suspects while they were robbed of money and cellphones.
The tracking device was removed and given to the taxi driver before they left him and the passengers on the side of the N1 highway heading towards Soweto.
Another hijacking took place in Westdene on the same day when a black BMW with the vehicle registration VLL 822 GP was taken by two unknown men. The victim was dropping off a friend at about 3am when he was approached by two men who pulled him from the driver’s seat into the back seat of the car. “The hijackers drove with the victim for about three hours while searching him and taking his cards, jewellery and phone,” said Claassen. He was then dropped off in Eden Park in the East Rand. The tracking device was later found abandoned in Katlehong Hostel and the vehicle is yet to be found.
Claassen said that even though no arrests have been made in both incidents, the cases are still under investigation.
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