Eight arrested for truck hijacking syndicate

Eight men were arrested on Tuesday, June 8, suspected to be part of a syndicate that hijack trucks in Gauteng.

Police, in working together with a private security company; recovered four firearms, a jamming device, hijacked vehicle and an ambulance used in the commission of crime.

“Police received information of a planned truck hijacking which would happen somewhere along the R59 freeway,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Masondo.

Officers monitored along the freeway when they spotted three vehicles, including a privately-branded ambulance, following the truck on the R59 at about 11 AM.

“Police intercepted the vehicles and suspects responded by firing shots at the police which led to a shootout and high speed chase.

The ambulance came to a halt on the R59 and three suspects were apprehended after they were found with two firearms and a jammer,” said Captain Masondo.

The last suspect, driving a Mazda was subsequently arrested.

The chase continues

Police continued to pursue the Mercedes Benz, which led to four more suspects arrested on the M2 East and recovered two firearms.

Initial investigations show that the vehicle was hijacked in Moffatview in May 2021.

According to Captain Masondo, the latest arrest brings to total 10 suspected truck hijackers nabbed in Gauteng in a space of two days following the arrest of the initial two on Monday (June 7) in Sedibeng.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner commended the team that acted diligently to curb the suspects that might be linked to various cases of courier vehicles and truck hijackings in the province, especially on the freeway.

“This is a breakthrough for us in Gauteng as we have been searching for suspects that are behind the hijacking of trucks in our province, especially after truck hijackings was one of the crimes which showed a rise as we were presenting the 4th quarter statistics two weeks ago,” said the Commissioner.