Two trucks were hijacked in the early hours of April 24 along the N3. At about 3am, two truck drivers were stopped on the N3 near Estcourt by an individual they thought was a Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officer in a white vehicle with flashing blue lights.
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The truck drivers gave an account of their harrowing ordeal.
“There was one guy in a car that had blue lights. He stopped us and we got out to explain that we had the right papers to drive the trucks with an abnormal load. The guy said he didn’t want to speak to us and when we went to our trucks, we saw more men with guns. They assaulted us, tied us up with shoelaces and put us in one of the trucks. They then drove us to another area, assaulted us some more and left us on the ground covered by a blanket,” explained one of the drivers.
The hijackers proceeded to steal 10 wheels from the two vehicles, as well as batteries from one of the trucks and fuel from the other. The hijackers also stole the two drivers’ cell-phones.
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“When we both got up later, I tried to flag down cars for help, but then the security vehicle arrived and called for emergency services.”
The owner of the trucks had contacted Berg Security to investigate the two missing vehicles, as he could not make contact with his drivers.
Herman Harvennga from Berg Security alerted emergency services once he located the two trucks at the top of Onderbroek Spruit on the R103. The drivers refused medical care from emergency services, but the owner of the trucks said he would be taking them to be examined.
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“Estcourt police are investigating a case of theft out of a motor vehicle,” commented police spokesperson Captain Bongani Nyathi.
Motorists are urged to stay alert and remember that RTI vehicles have official markings on them that allow people to know who they are.
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