He told the Herald that there is a syndicate that seems to be targeting Toyota bakkies in the region. “At every hijacking or theft of a vehicle, three names always pop up,” he said. Smit could not reveal the three suspects as they were busy with investigations. “There is a lot of activity in the rural Hlanganani, Elim, Waterfall, and near the new Nkuna Kraal Mall.

“The criminals start to strip the car immediately after stealing it. They disable the tracking unit in less than 30 minutes. They usually take these vehicles across the border to Zimbabwe and into northern Mozambique. It also seems that it is a group of foreigners who are working together with local people,” explained Smit.

Also read: SA truck hijackings on the increase

On the weekend of August 19 and 21, they attended to three cases of theft and they only managed to recover one car, as it had a tracking unit. His advice to motorists is to have a tracking unit, as it makes their work a little bit easier and also points them in the right direction they should be working towards. Last year November, Smit said the syndicate targeted new high-end vehicles such as Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Fortuner in the Tzaneen area.

In contrast, herewith, they were targeting older models in the Phalaborwa and surrounding areas. In June the South African crime statistics also indicated that truck hijackings were the second most enormous crime in the country and had increased by 700%. Smit further advised that if you suspect that you are being followed, make a couple of false turns and head to the nearest police station as quickly as you can.

He concluded by thanking the various teams that he works with, including the Mopani district police unit, police stations in Elim and Waterval, and other security personnel.