Spike in local hijackings, says Mike Bohuis

An increase in hijacking and abduction cases had been recorded in the past month, serious violent and serious economic crime investigator Mike Bolhuis said.

“We were inundated with cases regarding hijackings and abductions in the last month,” he said.

Bolhuis said that hijacking victims would be taken from one ATM to another so the hijackers could make maximum withdrawals from their victims’ accounts.

“This is not only traumatic for the abducted individual, but also for their families who report them as missing,” he said.

He said they had had one such case on September 3, where a father was reported missing by his family.

“Fortunately, he was found unharmed,” Bolhuis said.

Meanwhile, Pretoria North police spokesperson Sergeant Tsakani Miyen said one hijacking case had been reported at the station in the past month.

The incident occurred on 13 September.

“The victim was filling his car up at a garage when two males approached him and asked for a lift, saying they were going to the Pretoria CBD,” she said.

Miyen said it was during the drive that one of the two men pulled out a knife and asked the victim to pull over.

“The victim was then told to drive to another location in the Hammerkop area where he was searched,” she said.

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An undisclosed amount of money, along with his bank cards, were then taken from the victim and he was tied up with shoelaces.

“The two men demanded that the victim give them his PIN as well,” Miyen said.

The victim was left in the bushes and told he would find his vehicle parked at a mall.

“However, they did not tell him which mall he would find his car at,” she said.

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