Norwood police are cautioning residents to avoid accepting lifts from strangers following a recent spate of common robberies in the area.
Sergeant Nurse Tshwale, spokesperson for the Norwood Police Station, elaborated on the modus operandi used by the alleged robbers.
“The suspect, or suspects, offer unsuspecting passengers, mainly young women, a lift from Pretoria to Johannesburg and upon arrival in Houghton, pretend that the car has broken down and stop,” she explained.
“They then appear to be fixing the car and often request the passenger to come out of the car and assist in this and as soon as the passenger gets out to help, the driver allegedly gets back into the car and then drives off with the passenger’s valuables.”
So far two incidents had been reported to the police and Tshwale said the robbers were allegedly driving a Mercedes Benz in the one incident and a BMW X3 in the other.
She added that the victims were left unhurt following the incident.
“We urge residents to stay away from asking or accepting lifts from strangers and rather use public transport to avoid becoming a victim,” she concluded.
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