Courier services warned of continued robberies in the Rietgat policing area
"As they arrive at the location with a view to deliver the goods, criminals pounce on these unsuspecting delivery personnel, rob them their products and at worst hijack, kidnap or brutally assault them."
Rietgat police have again cautioned courier sector personnel to be vigilant when doing their rounds in the area.
Captain Stephen Maluleka said they have continued to see an escalation in armed robberies and truck jackings involving the delivery of goods and products in their policing area.
This warning follows a similar one made by Rietgat police earlier this year.
Maluleka said criminals took advantage of courier companies.
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“To date, the Rietgat police station has opened several cases of armed robbery and truck-jacking since the start of lockdown, and all the cases are courier service-related.
“According to victims, perpetrators would place orders of products, such as cellphones, beauty products and other household items. They would send them locations via cellphone to an isolated area different from the address on the order.
“As they arrive at the location to deliver the goods, criminals would pounce on unsuspecting delivery personnel, robbing them or hijack, kidnap or brutally assault them.”
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Maluleka said delivery truck drivers were also urged to avoid routes that have service delivery protests in progress, to avoid looting of the products they may be delivering within the precinct.
He said as a remedy, the police called on the service providers to inform them before deliveries to deploy sector vehicles to ensure the safety of the personnel and the products being delivered.
“As a precautionary measure, we would like courier companies to consider having their products collected by their customers at designated pickup points to help prevent the scourge.”
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