Police have again warned motorists and pedestrians to be cautious when using Impala Road and surrounding areas.
“Impala Road remains one of the crime hotspots for motorists and pedestrians,” said Kagiso Police spokesperson Captain Solomon Sibiya in a statement.
Police have received complaints of street robberies next to a BP filling station. People are sometimes mugged and robbed at gunpoint after withdrawing cash at ATMs that are situated on the premises of the filling station.”
Captain Sibiya went on to say that a victim told police that at about 19:00 on Thursday, September 30, he was on his home from the filling station when two people approached him and drew firearms. The man was ordered to lie down and eventually dragged to an open space where the men hit him with the butts of their firearms and demanded his bank PIN. The victim eventually gave them his PIN and one of the men went to the ATM to withdraw cash.
“People are robbed as they leave the grocery shops or after withdrawing cash from ATMs on the same premises,” warned Captain Sibiya.
Then on Friday, October 1 at about 03:00 a person driving a silver Geely (registration HI74CYGP) was hijacked at gunpoint by two groups who drove a white Toyota Corolla and a VW Polo respectively.
Also read: Be careful when using Impala Road – police warn
In another incident two days later a man was robbed on the same route near Leratong Hospital.
He told police that at about 19:30 he was driving an Inyathi minibus taxi (registration ZDC 929 GP) and picked up two unknown people and a minor. They told him that they were heading to Extension 12 but when he reached the intersection near Leratong Hospital they told him to continue towards Roodepoort.
A few metres away they took control of the vehicle and later dropped off the victim in the Roodepoort CBD.”
Captain Sibiya therefore urged motorists and members of the public to be more cautious when using Impala Road.
He also shared some safety tips to help keep the community safe:
• Avoid travelling alone very late at night.
• Do not pick up hitchhikers at night when you are alone.
• Increase caution at intersections – always keep a lookout for anyone looking suspicious around your car.
• Avoid walking alone to an ATM to withdraw cash, especially when it’s dark.
• Do not carry too much cash or display it in public after withdrawing it.
• Always observe your surroundings when withdrawing cash to make sure no one is trying to copy your PIN code.
• Criminals can be smart as they can sometimes use a cell phone to steal your PIN code from a distance.
