POLOKWANE – The determination of the SPS High Risk Unit and Polokwane police flying squad resulted in the recovery of a recently hijacked vehicle within 24 hours.
Jason Janse van Rensburg of SPS High Risk Unit says the recent increase in motor vehicle theft in the city can no doubt be ascribed to the work of a syndicate.
“We have managed to recover two of the seven vehicles that were hijacked last week in Polokwane as well.”
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During the recent incident the vehicle was hijacked in Gauteng and recovered in Mankweng. A driver and a passenger were arrested on the spot.
“We managed to track down the car to Mankweng through the tracking device.”
He says a case of hijacking will be opened at the Mankweng Police Station.
Janse van Rensburg says the syndicate seems to be looking for specific makes of vehicles that were pre-ordered, in this instance it is bakkies.
“These people are most definitely working together and the hijackings seem to be random. We have picked up that there aren’t really any specific hotspot areas in Polokwane. These hijackings are happening across the city. If these people see a vehicle that they have an order for they will try to take it regardless of the circumstances.”
He has noted that the cars are being hijacked and stolen from public and private locations ranging from hospitals, mall parking lots to residential areas.
He has urged residents to remain vigilant at all times. He says one can contact SPS High Risk Unit on 082 804 9797 for any protection, surveillance, armed robbery, murder, kidnapping and all high risk cases.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo did not respond to any queries at the time of going to print.