R29 between Kinross and Leandra is a hijacking hotspot
The hijackers left him in the veld on a farm between Leandra and Devon with one of their gang members and took off with the bakkie and the policeman’s gun, wallet and cell phones. They later returned in a different vehicle to collect their friend
LEANDRA – A detective from the police’s unit that investigates crimes related to family violence, child protection and sexual offences (FCS) was hijacked, tied up and dumped in the veld on Wednesday night, 29 May.
The top notch detective known for his skill to catch serial rapists and securing the jail sentences for these sexual predators, was overpowered in a blitz attack along the R29 between Kinross and Leandra.
He spent the day working with a special investigation team and was on route to Leandra in his unmarked police bakkie when he made a short stop along the road at the entrance to a farm just outside Kinross at about 6pm.
According to Capt Liz Koekemoer, FCS branch commander, four men who looked like farm workers walked past the FCS cop at that point.
They suddenly pounced on him from behind, pulled a gun to his head, slipped a rope around his neck and throttled him until he lost consciousness.
He came to in the back seat with his hands and feet bound.
The hijackers stopped along a farm road after several hours and forced the policeman out of the vehicle.
Capt Koekemoer suspects this is when the robbers realised that they were dealing with a policeman.
They discovered his firearm while they were assaulting him. He sustained head and facial injuries.
The detective’s assailants left him with one of the gang members in the veld on a farm between Leandra and Devon and took off with the bakkie and the policeman’s gun, wallet and cell phones.
They later returned in a different vehicle to collect their friend.
The policeman was left tied up in the cold of the night.
He eventually managed to break the shoelaces with which the culprits tied his feet and then stumbled through the veld until he came across the house of a farm worker.
“He phoned me at 2:40am from the farm worker’s phone,” Capt Koekemoer told Ridge Times.
The detective was not sure where he was. Capt Koekemoer, the Leandra Police, the flying squad and the Secunda K9 unit embarked on a search for their colleague.
They finally located him on the farm of Mr Jan Barnard.
He is currently in hospital.
The Kinross Police’s spokesman, Sgt Jaco Nagel, said the R29 between Kinross and Leandra is a hijacking hot spot.
“The combined number of hijackings reported to the Kinross and Leandra police stations total 20 for this year.
“In each case four men were involved in the hijacking and most of the crimes happened between 6pm and 8pm,” said Sgt Nagel.
