A truck driver at a courier company learned the hard way not to report false hijackings in Kempton Park.
The 32-year-old will now appear in court facing a charge of perjury and defeating the ends of justice.
Kempton police spokesperson, Capt Jethro Mtshali, said the driver reported to police that his truck had been hijacked by three armed men driving a silver grey Mercedes Benz.
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He said the truck was taken at the R21 off-ramp while he and a co-worker were travelling from OR Tambo Airport, transporting a load of cellphones. The man also told police he and his colleague were dumped in Kaalfontein by the hijackers, where they were picked up by metro police officers.
“Upon further investigations by police, it was discovered the truck was found by metro officers in Spartan and was being driven by a 57-year-old man from Soweto. All the goods were still inside the truck,” Mtshali said.
It then emerged that the courier company driver, who had earlier claimed he and a co-worker were hijacked, had allegedly planned the hijacking with the suspect and he was also subsequently arrested.
The driver will appear in court for perjury and investigations continue to locate other suspects who may also be involved.
“The station commander of Kempton Park, Brig Bertha Kgoroba, commended the metro police officers, Kempton police officers and the team of the courier company for doing a sterling job on the case,” Mtshali concluded.
