According to Captain Thivhulawi Tshilate (spokesperson: Heidelberg SAPS) seven hijackings or robberies took place on the N3 and R23 offramp between 3 and 5 December.
On December 3, a 46-year-old male was travelling in his friends Toyota Hi-Lux (FX 00 RB GP) to Soweto. He just passed the De Hoek Toll Plaza on the N3 when a white vehicle with blue lights flashed him from behind. The victim stopped the vehicle as he thought it was police. He was approached by four men dressed in private clothes and one suspect pointed a firearm at the victim. He was forced into the back of the vehicle and taken to a nearby ATM where they emptied the victim’s bank account. They took his cellphone and dropped him in Zonkizizwe (Kathlehong).
On December 4 a young male was driving his grey Volkswagen Golf R (NJ 26173) in the direction of Benoni. On the offramp on the N3, a female driving a Volkswagen Polo stopped in front of the victim and another vehicle bumped into him from behind. The victim got out of the vehicle to inspect the damage and was approached by two African males. One suspect pointed a firearm at the victim and forced him into the Polo and drove off in an unknown direction. The victim was later dropped off in Zonkizizwe.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male was driving from Benoni to Heidelberg on the R23. He was driving his Volkswagen Tiguan when a Hyundai H100 stopped in front of him. Two African males jumped out of the vehicle and pointed a firearm at the victim. They forced him into the vehicle and detained him at an unknown location and he was released a few hours later. The vehicle was recovered by the tracking company.
On December 5, four incidents took place. A 44-year-old male was driving from Durban to Johannesburg on the N3 . He had mechanical issues with the truck and parked next to the road just before the Benoni offramp. He got out of the truck to investigate the problem and was attacked by two African males. The victim ran away and saw his truck driving in the direction of Johannesburg. The truck was carrying 39 000 litres of fuel.
On the same day a man was driving a Mercedes-Benz Atego (RNY 456 GP) with 200 bags of cement on the R23 when he stopped to fill the truck up with water. He was then grabbed from behind by two suspects and forced into the boot of a white Volkswagen Golf. The victim was later dropped at Carnival City.
Later that same day a technician was called out to a broken down truck at the De Hoek Toll Plaza. The victim was busy repairing the truck and was approached by two African males. The suspects demanded money and his keys. The victim told them that his wallet was in the bakkie. They fired a shot into the air and left with the wallet on foot.
