hijacking – praag.org

Bogus cops hijack motorist

A 37-year-old resident of Springs was hijacked Friday evening after he was pulled over by bogus black policeman at the corner of Springs Road and Denne Road, the Brakpan Herald reported.

The man was on his way home in his Mercedes Benz C180 when he noticed a white car behind him, flashing its blue lights.

According to information from the police, the man pulled over, thinking it was the police. The other vehicle stopped behind him.

The driver and passenger got out of the other vehicle and went to the man’s driver’s side window. One of the attackers immediately pulled out a firearm and they instructed him to move to the back seat.

One of the hijackers joined the victim in the back seat and the other started driving the Mercedes. After driving around for approximately 20 minutes, they dropped off the victim at a factory in KwaThema.

The victim ran to the factory to look for help and the factory’s security guards took him to the KwaThema Police Station, where a case has been opened.

The Herald recently reported on a similar case when a 34-year-old man was hijacked and kidnapped, on Friday, April 10, after he was pulled over by bogus cops in Denne Road; the victim was not injured.

Capt Joep Joubert, spokesperson for the Brakpan Police Station commander, said that if you suspect you are being pulled over by bogus cops, you can do the following:

– Acknowledge that you saw them and indicate that they should follow you.
– Put on your hazards and drive to the nearest police station or public place.

SANDF soldiers open fire on marked police car

No arrests have been made after three South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers allegedly opened fire on a marked police vehicle and that of a tracking company.

According to provincial spokesperson Colonel Leonard Hlati, detectives from Mbuzini are investigating three SANDF soldiers who allegedly “ambushed” a marked police vehicle and that of a tracking company following the hijacking near the Mozambican border at around 22:30 last Wednesday, Lowvelder reported.

The incident came after a vehicle was reported stolen in Tonga, Mpumalanga that night. The vehicle was fitted with a tracking device and the managing company, Cartrack, located the abandoned vehicle a few hundred metres from the border.

Tonga police were then notified of the recovery and invited to the scene where the abandoned vehicle had been left. An SANDF commander was then notified that the abandoned vehicle would be returned.

“Soldiers are patrolling the border and we wanted to warn them that we would be returning to the scene, so that they would not open fire on us,” a source who was at the scene, said.

With the Cartrack vehicle travelling in the front, followed by the marked police vehicle, the party approached the hijacked vehicle. “We had our emergency lights and sirens on,” the source added. However, the recovery party was still fired upon.

The occupants of both vehicles saw it was SANDF soldiers patrolling the fence who were shooting at them.

They shouted and called on the radio for the soldiers to cease fire, but to no avail. The soldiers kept on firing at the convoy. The police vehicle’s engine was hit and it eventually seized.

One witness described the incident as an “ambush” and added that the shots fired were not warning shots, but aimed to kill.

The SANDF soldiers accused of firing the shots claimed to have thought the approaching convoy to be hijackers, despite the notification from police.

SANDF spokesperson Colonel Piet Paxton, confirmed the incident and said a panel of inquiry had been requested.

“As far as we know, five shots were fired, believed to be from one firearm.

“One soldier could not account for five bullets and it seemed as though five shots were fired at the convoy. The panel of inquiry will investigate the circumstances around the shooting, as well as which disciplinary steps would have to be followed,” He said.

Paxton added that it was almost impossible for the major on duty to notify troops in the field of the police’s arrival, thus the troops had been unaware.

Crime smokes lucrative tobacco market

Heavily armed criminal gangs are plundering the lucrative tobacco industry, carrying out at least four hijackings a day on vehicles transporting cigarettes.

“You ‘hit’ a vehicle transporting cigarettes and you strike gold,” said Francois van der Merwe, CEO of the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa.

The tobacco institute claims that at least 6billion cigarettes consumed annually are either illegal (stolen and counterfeit) or illicit (undeclared or incorrectly packaged by the manufacturer to avoid paying tax).

Of the 6 billion illicit cigarettes sold annually, 3 billion were manufactured in the country.

He was commenting after Tabby Tsengiwe, the spokesman for British American Tobacco – one of the biggest distributors of cigarettes in South Africa – said yesterday that 1412 of its transport vehicles were hijacked annually.

This equates to about four attacks a day. In January, armed robbers attacked a BAT vehicle in Brackenhurst, south of Johannesburg. On the same day, a truck delivering cigarettes was robbed by seven men armed with R5 assault rifles in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

In April, police arrested five men in King William’s Town, Eastern Cape, after they robbed a truck of cigarettes worth R180.000.

And according to a police report to the Gauteng portfolio committee on community safety in November last year, 20.5% of hijackings in the province involved BAT vehicles transporting cigarettes.

Criminologists, researchers and the cigarette industry say sophisticated and organised syndicates are reportedly moving away from cash-in-transit vehicles, ATMs and banks to softer targets such as un-armoured and unescorted vehicles distributing cigarettes across South Africa.

With the cigarette war escalating, criminologists are urging the government to do more to combat the crime.

The company said hijackers prized products that could be rapidly dispersed, which made trucks transporting fast-moving consumer goods vulnerable.

Van der Merwe said BAT was hardest hit by crime because of its huge distribution network system.

“The traditional way of delivery is through wholesalers.”

Because vehicles carry as many as 50 “master cases”, which contain about 10,000 cigarettes, a single attack could result in a syndicate “striking gold”.

With a single cigarette costing R3 on the street, they could make R30,000 from one hit.

“This is done mainly through excise manipulation, where not all produce is declared to SARS. Since 2010 South Africa has lost more than R22-billon because of illicit cigarettes,” he said.

Source: timeslive

Father blackmailed by blacks with torture pictures from his pregnant daughter’s own cellphone

South African crime and violence have taken an even more bizarre twist as a pregnant young woman, Leandi Venter, was hijacked in her car a week ago, assaulted and tortured, with pictures of the battered girl sent to her father from her own cellphone to extract money from him.

Leandi Venter, on her wedding day. (Photo from Facebook.)

Her mother, Olga Bosman Schoeman, a classical musician and accomplished harpist, posted the following heart-wrenching account on her Facebook page in the form of a warning to women and girls that they might be attacked in their own cars at traffic lights in broad daylight.

My beautiful, fragile daughter was hijacked on JG Strijdom Avnue at 8.20am last Sunday. She was abducted and assaulted and held for ransom by four burly men who wore balaclavas and gloves.

She was on her way to Clearwater Mall. There was little traffic. When she stopped at a traffic light they broke her window with a brick they kept with them to beat her. They jumped into the car and commanded her to drive. They spoke little and only English.

They gave directions to an area near Rebel Farmers and forced her to stop in a secluded wooded section where they forced her to march into the bushes at knife point. They carried firearms as well.

Then they demanded money. When she said she had none, they wanted her to go to the bank and withdraw some. Their demand for cash increased as did their agitation. They took her phone and said: let’s see who will pay for you then.

First significant name on the list is “Daddy”. Let’s see how much daddy loves you, they said.

She said one cannot transfer and draw that incredible amount of money within minutes. She reasoned with them calmly and rationally. She also told them that she is pregnant and if they hurt the baby they will get no co-operation from her. They may as well kill her right there.

They said maybe Daddy needed some motivation to speed up the ransom. She refused to phone. They tied her up with duct tape and proceeded to take videos and pictures with her camera which they then sent to her dad before deleting them. They beat her brutally and relentlessly. One held her from behind, pulling her hair back to expose her delicate face. One held her legs. One took off his shirt and beat her. One video-ed.

After knocking her out they took more pictures which they sent to her dad. When she could speak, she phoned him.

They forced her back to her car and put a beanie over her brutalized face. They commanded her to drive in circles from one ATM to the next. Her husband was also called and sent videos and asked for cash. They wanted e-wallet transfers when the cash the dad and husband rustled up couldn’t be drawn fast enough. They kept her on her phone so we would know she was alive.

A famous private detective and his entire team, dogs and all, were quickly summoned. My brave girl continued to be calm and responsible and rational. She held it together.

Transfers took too long. One gent got scared and ran off after the second transaction. Her car has a tracer and thank God they made her use her phone because the team traced her within minutes and followed her aimless driving.

The thugs were also contemplating that this was not really going as well as they had hoped and that maybe they ought to have thought this through more. Like the possibility of someone tracing them through their account. Like keeping her for the night and getting more money.

That is where she nearly lost it. She did however keep very calm. A call came through which they wanted her to take. She had put the phone in the cubby hole quite casually, knowing there was a Mace spray in there. So when she took the phone she took the lipstick-shaped Mace as well.

The call was from the detective assuring her they were not far.

She then promptly stopped at the side of the road and said to her kidnappers calmly that they shouldn’t be idiots. Her car had a tracker and her phone as well. Did they really think that after the first call to her dad and second to her husband she would not be tracked? She said the call was from the police, they were minutes away with their canine unit. Won’t these gents be kind enough to be grateful for what they’ve already got and run?

She then sprayed them furiously with Mace.

They opened the door and ran in different directions.

All she could do after that was drive fast to a shopping area where she phoned. She was found minutes later by all concerned in the chase.

She is badly beaten, but those injuries will heal in time. The damage to her soul I cannot fathom. She is not coping at all. She was taken to Garden City Clinic for endless tests. Trauma counselling is in place. The gynaecologist is extremely happy with little Pinkfoot. He said if it hadn’t been for her courageous calmness throughout the nearly four hours of captivity and even and especially during the brutal assault, things might have been quite different.

How incredible it feels to say how lucky we are.

Things could have been very, very different.

This random hijacking near Clearwater Mall was a wrong-place-wrong-time-thing. And the men were desperate for cash.

She was lost in thought as she stopped at the traffic light, thinking about opening a new bank account and the maternity clothes she would soon need to buy.

The criminals demanded money from her account, first through transfers then through e-wallet. I didn’t even know such a thing existed.

So I implore you all to be extra vigilant at intersections. And know about this method of extracting money.

I am lucky indeed. My child is alive.

Blacks shoot man dead in front of his family

A 41-year-old man was shot in front of his family during an attempted hijacking in Glen Marais on the East Rand, Gauteng police said on Wednesday.

Wimpie Gadney was shot in the chest and died on arrival in hospital, said spokesman Captain Jethro Mtshali.

“Three suspects entered their yard in Glen Marais at around 5pm shortly after the family arrived. The deceased was in the house when he heard his wife screaming and went to investigate.”

“A scuffle ensued between him and the three suspects and he was shot. Their two young daughters were in the car with their mother when the suspects arrived,” Mtshali said.

The three men fled the scene. No arrests have been made.

Johannesburg hijack accused to apply for bail

Scene of the hijacking as captured on CCTV

One of four men implicated in a hijacking filmed on CCTV in the Johannesburg CBD was expected to apply for bail in the city’s magistrate’s court on Monday.

Police arrested Siphelele Mdlalose, 29, Khanyisani Ngubane, 24, Mhlonishwa Mchunu, 36, and Ntobeko Hlatshwayo, 29, on Thursday.

A Toyota Rav4 and a Toyota Corolla believed to have been stolen were seized.

Police were investigating four hijackings caught on camera in downtown Johannesburg, to which the men may also be linked.

The CCTV footage was being analysed to identify the hijackers and the weapons used, said police.

In one clip a family driving a Toyota Rav4 was seen being hijacked at the intersection of Commissioner and Crown streets in broad daylight.

Police spokeswoman Obakeng Mabaso said at the time that a car overtook the family’s car while they were waiting at the intersection, and parked in front of it. Another car parked it in from behind.

“Two men from one car and two from the other car got out…. They ordered [the family] to get out of the car.”

They took two cellphones and R10,000 in cash. Two of the assailants were armed. In the video, a woman is seen being pulled out of the car. She falls to the ground and walks towards the pavement as the attackers drive off with the car. – Sapa

Four men arrested for hijacking in downtown Johannesburg

Four men have been arrested in connection with the hijacking of a family’s car in central Johannesburg, which made headlines when CCTV footage of the crime was posted online, Gauteng police said on Friday.

On Thursday Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini said in a statement that the men had been taken in for questioning and that the family’s silver Toyota Rav4 and a Toyota Corolla were recovered on Wednesday.

“Further investigations are continuing as more people might have been involved,” he said.

Police were investigating four hijackings in downtown Johannesburg, also caught on camera, which the men may also be linked to.

The footage was being analysed to identify the hijackers and the weapons used.

On November 16, the family were hijacked at the intersection of Commissioner and Crown streets.

Police spokeswoman Obakeng Mabaso said at the time that a car overtook the family’s car as they were waiting at the intersection, and parked in front of it. Another car parked it in from behind.

“Two men from one car and two from the other car got out… .They ordered [the family] to get out of the car.”

They took two cellphones, and R10,000 in cash. Two of the assailants were armed. In the footage, a VW Polo cuts in front of the Toyota and an Opel Corsa parks behind it. There appear to be four occupants in the Toyota.

During the hijacking, a woman is pulled out of the car, falls to the ground and walks towards the pavement as the attackers drive off with the car. – Sapa

Two people injured in Johannesburg shootout

Johannesburg's central business district where the shooting took place — Johannesburg’s central business district where the shooting took place

Two people were injured when a group fleeing from security guards opened fire in the Johannesburg central business district on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

“An Audi Q7 was chasing a blue BMW M1 when the occupants of the BMW started shooting at the Audi Q7 which was driven by security guards at the corner of Anderson and Sauer streets,” said spokesman Warrant Officer Xoli Mbhele on Thursday.

“The security guards then returned fire and shot the BMW’s tyre,” he said.

Mbhele said the five got out of their car and fled on foot while they were shooting at the security guards, hitting two passengers in a stationary Quantum taxi at the corner of Broad and Loveday Streets.

“The group then hijacked a white Nissan Tiida and sped off from the scene,” Mbhele said.

The car was later recovered at Turffontein.

“The injured, a man and a woman, were treated at the scene but the woman was taken to hospital with a wound in the neck,” Mbhele said.

The security guards gave chase to the group’s car when it failed to stop as it was driving towards on-coming traffic, Mbhele said.

He said the police were searching for the criminals. – Sapa

Soweto: 217 arrested for murder, rape, armed robbery, hijacking

A black man accused of killing his girlfriend has been arrested in Emdeni, Soweto police said on Sunday.

He was taken into custody on Saturday night after his girlfriend was found dead in his bedroom, said Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela.

He was among 217 people arrested around the black area Soweto for various crimes including rapes, armed robbery, hijacking and drunk driving.

A total of 29 illegal shebeens were shut down, said Makhubela.

The arrested would appear in the Protea, Orlando, Lenasia and Roodepoort magistrate’s courts on Monday. – Sapa

Female Univ. of Johannesburg student hijacked on campus

Campus of the University of Johannesburg

A University of Johannesburg (UJ) student was hijacked on campus and robbed, police said on Friday.

An armed man approached the 23-year-old student while she was parking in the university’s Kingsway campus parking lot at 9am on Thursday, said Constable Elizabeth Mnguni.

He pointed a firearm at her and told her to move over to the passenger seat.

The man drove out of the campus to an empty parking lot where he tied her hands, put her in the boot of the car, and drove to an ATM.

“She says she gave him the pin because he promised to hurt her [if she did not],” said Mnguni.

The man left her in an open area in Eldorado Park, where she was later found.

“They took her to the police station where a carjacking case was opened, but transferred to Brixton where the crime happened,” Mnguni said.

UJ spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said the university had launched an internal investigation into what happened.

“Arrangements are being made to meet with the alleged victim so that we can extend our support by counselling etc, and to get a better understanding of what happened,” he said.

“The safety of students is of highest priority.” – Sapa

‘It always happens to others’

South Africa may not experience tsunamis, hurricanes or devastating earthquakes, but we do experience other life-shattering tragedies such as fires, HIV/AIDS and…. violent crime! “It always happens to others!” people are wont to say … until it happens to you! A victim of a hijacking writes about his terrible ordeal.

It happened to me three years ago, on the night of 17 September 2003. I was returning home after presenting a late lecture to engineering students. I was tired. It had been raining. I was looking forward to relaxing at home with my wife and son. I stopped my car outside the gate at home and was opening the gate, when I heard a voice behind me saying: “Get back inside your car”.

I turned slowly to see a black man standing there pointing his gun at me. I looked quickly towards my house but nobody was in sight. I had no option but to obey. With that, two accomplices emerged from the shadows and forced me into the back of the car, one on either side of me.

The gun toting attacker got behind the wheel and we drove away. I had no idea where I was being taken at that time of night. I was swiftly relieved of my belongings – my wallet (with R70.00 cash in it), my gold watch, my cell phone, my wedding band,…all the while I was being sworn at, cursed at. I remained calm, knowing that God had His hand on me.

I told them to drop me on the side of the road telling them they could have my car. In reply I was told they did not want my car, only money! As we drove on they forced me to lie down on the seat so that I could not be seen and put a dirty cap over my face so I could not see where I was being taken. I just prayed: “God confound them.” This happened, as they soon lost their way and had to stop and ask directions; but I was not afforded an opportunity for escape. I did manage to see some lights as we drove along and I recognised the route they were taking. I had no idea what to expect next.

After another ten kilometers or so, they turned into a smaller road and finally down a steep, rough track into a clearing and there I was accosted by the gun-wielding man who demanded to know where my laptop was. I had been doing research for an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and had left some discs on the back seat. They were now in disarray as I had been forced to lie down on them during the highjacking journey. While trying to explain that I did not possess one, the man punched me in the face and repeated his demand. He then threw me down onto the ground outside the car and tried to kick me in the face with his boot. I caught his foot and protected my face but he then started shooting, pumping four bullets into my left leg and two into my right thigh. He pulled the trigger once more but the gun just went “click”. As he walked away from the car, I decided to try and escape. I could not use my legs – they were simply not responding – so I decided to roll away. I rolled off the edge of the clearing and down the steep slope for about 30 meters through long weeds and muddy ground full of stones and roots. I decide to lie there with my head down so that blood would stay in my head. There was a street lamp nearby. In the dim light I could see the bullet wounds in my legs and the blood oozing from them. I lay on my back looking up at the stars thinking, “Nobody even knows where I am – Am I going to die like this?” I prayed to God saying I was totally in His hands. It was now up to Him.

After lying there for about ten minutes, I spotted a young African boy walking along a nearby path. I called out to him in Zulu asking him to phone the police, get an ambulance and phone my wife to let her know what had happened to me. He said he would call his mother to help me – it turned out that she was a qualified home nurse! She arrived soon after, equipped with rubber gloves and a first aid kit. She took off my shoes and asked permission to remove my long pants, quite blood-stained by now. There was no time to feel embarrassed so I said, “Go ahead”. She cleaned my wounds and slowed the bleeding. With that an African man appeared and said: “Do not be afraid. I am here to help you.” By now my legs were shaking uncontrollably. He then left and returned with a sleeping bag which he placed over me to keep me warm. He placed his jacket under my head then returned home to phone the local police.

They were reluctant to come and investigate so he became angry and phoned his white boss, whom he knew “would make a plan”. His boss (who did not even know me) threatened the police and demanded that I be attended to. Within fifteen minutes there were four police vehicles at the scene. One of the policemen phoned my wife telling her I had been shot several times and that I would be taken to Crompton Hospital. My wife made two phone calls and by the time I arrived there were thirty family, friends and church members waiting. Even in the state I was in, I was emotionally moved and touched by this overwhelming support.

I was wheeled into Emergency, given an x-ray and, not needing surgery, was taken to a ward where my blood was tested. My veins had collapsed and they had to take arterial blood to establish my blood type. I needed two and a half pints of replacement blood. I overheard the nurses talking and saying that I probably would not live – then the doctor commenting that I was strong and would pull through. A day later I was well enough to move to a normal ward – one of the many miracles to follow. My left leg was in plaster from top to toe with a small window cut in the plaster to enable the dressing of my wound to be changed regularly. Two days later I was visited by Nickolas Ntanjana (who covered me with the sleeping bag) and his boss, Bruce Dickson, and that is when I heard their side of the story (about the calls to the police).

I was back home and recuperating in the company of my loving and very supportive family. I was off work for the rest of the year. This led to some serious financial losses as I received no compensation from either the Road Accident Fund nor from Workman’s Compensation.

I lost tens of thousands of rands due to not being able to give extra lectures. There is no fund to cover one in the event of a highjacking. A case of attempted murder was opened by the local police but to date no arrests have been reported. It is sad that criminals and the syndicates supporting them, can just force themselves into your life, violently ruin it and get away with it. Governments who pride themselves on removing the death penalty will have to answer to God as to why they have subjected their law-abiding citizens to the death penalty instead! Not only do you and your immediate family suffer but also the community that you serve – there are vast, rippling (negative) effects. Medical expenses, counselling (by psychologists or psychiatrists), protracted battles with insurance companies or debtors, security measures to be upgraded, etc. I have lost my ability to concentrate for extended periods on technical type work and hence have had to give up my research. I was determined not to become a victim and was elected as chairman of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, KwaZulu Natal Branch, last year. Nevertheless my reserves of energy have become limited. I suppose being over the age of fifty also contributes to this.

I would like to emphasise that having been through a traumatic, near death experience, it gives one a new set of values. One of these is the importance of communicating appreciation and love to those around you. Say it and say it often. Love is the only thing I know that grows as you give it away! Life is really very temporal and fragile. Live it by loving those close to you.

HOW TO AVOID A HIJACK SITUATION

80% of hijackings take place in home driveways. Check your driveway and street before you leave or enter your premises. Be on the look out for suspicious vehicles/persons.
Always be cautious and aware of surrounding obstructions and shrubbery that may conceal a hijacker.
At road junctions, leave enough space between your car and the one ahead of you to allow you to escape.
If a car has driven into the rear of your car, and the impact is fairly light, wave to the driver to follow you to somewhere safe to trade necessary information.
When approaching your vehicle, always have your keys ready but not visible. Be aware of your surroundings & if you notice any suspicious behaviour immediately walk away from your car towards a safe area.
When approaching a red traffic light at night, slow down so that you only reach it when it turns green.
Do not stand by your car if you are waiting for somebody & never sit in your parked vehicle without being aware of your surroundings.
Once in the car, lock all your doors & leave your window only partially open. Keep any valuables, briefcase, handbag & cell phone out of sight.
If you suspect you are being followed, take a different route home. If you still think you are being followed, drive to the nearest police station. Do not stop your car for any reason as this will give your pursuer the ideal opportunity to hijack your vehicle.
Avoid driving through high crime or unfamiliar areas as well as late at night/early hours of the morning when the roads are quiet.
Drive in the centre lane away from pedestrians where possible.
When you are a victim of a car-hijacking, don’t put up a fight. Do exactly as told by the hijackers. Do not reach for your purse or valuables.
Gather as much information as possible without posing a threat.