The efforts of short-term criminal gains also come wrapped in spite aimed at humiliating their victim.
Police have arrested two men after they hijacked and abducted a man in Florida on 25 May. The hijacking victim was at the corner of Ontdekkers and Gordon Roads at roughly 10am when one man approached his stationary white BMW. The man drew a knife and thrust his hands through the windows of the BMW, threatening to stab the occupant while gaining access to the vehicle.
The hijacker took control of the BMW, and forced the driver into the back seat as two others entered the vehicle. The three men forced the victim to cover his face with his shirt as they drove for roughly 25 minutes, ending their journey at an RDP house in Soweto. There, they removed all their victim’s possessions and stripped him of his clothes, leaving him naked on the bed.
Another man joined the group and the four then began transferring money from their captive’s bank account using his cards and cellphone. Two thugs then left the house with the BMW owner’s bank cards while the other two waited at the house, continuing to use the man’s cellphone.
Some time passed while the men were out, but the thugs began to get nervous, entering and exiting the house repeatedly, when they saw police officers in their street. Laughably, the captors asked their captive to misdirect police with a cheeky rouse. “One of them then gave him his clothes to wear as the other thug asked him to tell the police that they were friends,” stated Florida Police spokesperson, Sergeant Mpho More.
Police then forcibly opened the door of the house where the hijacking victim was able to point out his stolen car in the street outside. “The two suspects, linked with other cases of hijacking in the area, were then arrested and detained at Dobsonville Police Station. They will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court soon,” confirmed Sergeant More. The remaining suspects are still at large but police thanked community members who assisted with information that led to the arrests.
