Boksburg police probe possible ‘bike hijacking’ syndicate
It's believed that these crimes are committed by counterparts, who hijack the motorcycles and sell them to other delivery people.
While Boksburg remains a fertile ground for hijackings, the Boksburg SAPS warns of an alarming increase in the hijacking of delivery motorcycles during which the victims are also robbed of personal belongings, like cellphones and cash.
Some of the delivery motorcyclists suspect that the perpetrators of these crimes are criminals working with people within the industry.
For their safety, some of them said they have opted to stop doing deliveries at night.
One of the Boksburg Mr D delivery motorcyclists, who asked not to be identified, told the Boksburg Advertiser that he was badly beaten up by a gang of four criminals who hijacked his Big Boy motorcycle. They took his cellphone as he was delivering food in Primrose at about 19:30 last month.
“I was waiting outside the house, located next to a veld, when I noticed the men wearing uniforms, the same as ours. While three of them assaulted me with different objects, including stones, the fourth man was battling to start the scooter, which was at the time lying on the ground and took long to start.
“They stole my cellphone before eventually managing to start the scooter, then rode away.
“An ambulance arrived at about 20:00 and took me to hospital. I later opened a case at the police station. Two days ago, my colleague also had his scooter taken in the same area,” said the delivery driver.
The motorcyclists and his co-workers said they suspect these crimes are committed by some of their counterparts, who hijack the motorcycles and sell them to other delivery people. They also believe that in some cases the delivery orders are placed by someone working with the criminals.
“These things (the motorcycles) have a big market and that market is within our own industry. They could steal here today and resell the motorbike in Pretoria, and vice versa. I’m now renting a motorcycle to be able to continue working for my family.”
Boksburg cases
According to the Boksburg SAPS spokesperson, Sergeant Ntsako Ledwaba, detectives are investigating at least nine motorcycle hijackings reported during August and September.
These targeted bikes are Checkers Sixty60 and Mr Delivery motorcycles and the hot spots are Plantation, Farrar Park and Freeway Park.
Latest cases:
• Among the latest incidents in Plantation, about five suspects ambushed the motorbike driver at the gate of a property in Palm Avenue, Plantation, where he was making a delivery just before 19:00 on September 29.
“He received an order to deliver at the address and upon arrival at the gate, someone came from behind, grabbed him and demanded a cellphone and the Honda motorbike. He complied and all of a sudden a black bakkie with about four occupants pulled over. One of the suspects drove the motorcycle and his accomplice in the bakkie followed him,” Ledwada explained.
In the same suburb, another victim told the police that at about 20:00 on September 29 he had his delivery motorcycle hijacked by about three suspects.
“He was also making a delivery in Palm Avenue. Upon arrival, he was approached by the suspects who threatened him with a firearm and took him to a nearby veld where they robbed him of his cellphone and money. One of the suspects drove the motorcycle away.”
• In Farrar Park, another biker told the police that it was just after 19:00 on September 29 when a gang of about four men driving in a silver car accosted him as he was at the gate of a property in the area waiting for the client to come and fetch the parcel.
“They pointed a firearm at him, pushed him off the bike and one of the assailants rode his Big Boy motorcycle away,” explained Ledwaba.
• In Freeway Park, the victim told the police that he had just arrived at the client’s property on Tamboti Avenue when he was at about 21:35 confronted by a gang of criminals driving in a silver car on September 28. “As he was waiting outside the address, the car pulled over and the occupants accosted him. He ran away leaving the motorcycle behind. One of the gang members rode the bike.”
Also Read: WATCH: Boksburg’s increasing crime trends, hijacking attract ‘Operation Shanela’
