- Man driver who gave two hitchhikers a lift was hi-jacked at gunpoint
- The hijackers tied a chain around the drivers’ neck
- The Welkom K9 unit was activated
A truck driver who gave two hitchhikers a lift was hi-jacked at gunpoint and robbed of his truck and wheat cargo.
On 5 July at about 18:00 the 52-year-old truck driver from George was refilling the truck with diesel when a person who introduced himself as Denver Jacobs asked for a lift for himself and his companion.
They went on the road and in the vicinity of Jakkalsdrift in the Winburg district the passenger calling himself Denver asked if they could stop so that he could relieve himself. When he returned, he aimed a gun at the truck driver and forced him to get out.
The hijackers tied a chain around his neck and fastened it to a nearby fence.
The two suspects drove off with the truck.
The truck driver managed to untie himself and asked a lift from an ambulance, to get to the Ventersburg SAPS where he reported the incident.
A case of truck hijacking was registered and the Welkom K9 unit was activated, together with officers of other police stations nearby.
SAPS members were on the lookout until a vehicle was discovered and identified as the hijacked truck at about 20:00.
The two suspects, aged 25 and 27 from the Western Cape and Phomolong, Hennenman, were arrested for possession of the suspected stolen truck with a load of wheat.
Sgt Wessel Bernardo and Sgt Namane Namane of the Ventersburg SAPS and Const. Cobus van Wyk of the Welkom K9 unit made the arrest.
A Retay gas pistol was found in their possession.
The two suspects will face charges of truck hijacking and possession of a suspected stolen truck.
The case will be investigated by the Welkom Vehicle Crime Investigation unit.
