POLICE are warning taxi bosses to be on the alert after three separate hijackings on the South Coast.
In one of these cases, a taxi driver has been missing since last Tuesday.
Earlier cases
Two taxis have been hijacked in the Highflats area recently. On August 1 a taxi owner received a call from a woman wanting to hire the vehicle.
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When the driver went to meet her, two men wearing balaclavas held him at gunpoint and forced him to the back of the taxi.
“The armed men then dropped him off after which he went to get help,” said police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid. The taxi was later recovered in St Faith’s.
Gunpoint
In another similar incident, a woman called a taxi owner requesting transport for at least 16 people last Friday. “When the driver arrived, two men forced him at gunpoint to lie down in the back of the taxi. He was later dropped off at Springvale near Highflats,” said Lt-Col Wiid.
The taxi was recovered in Pietermaritzburg last Sunday. Sergeant Sicelo Khwela is investigating two cases of hijacking. Anyone with any information can contact Sgt Khwela at 079 8175715 or 039 8350000.
Taxi driver missing
Gamalakhe detectives are searching for a Gamalakhe taxi driver who has been missing, with the taxi, since last Tuesday.
According to Captain Gerald Mfeka, the taxi owner, who resides in Murchison, cashed up the driver’s takings, after which the driver left for his home in Gamalakhe. “When the owner tried to call him later that night, there was no answer. The taxi owner alleges that his driver was hijacked, as neither the driver nor the taxi is anywhere to be found,” said Captain Mfeka.
Police managed to pick up a signal via a tracker and it was traced to the Eastern Cape. To date the taxi has not been located nor has the driver been found.
The taxi owner opened a case of car hijacking at Gamalakhe Police Station. “Gamalakhe detectives are still investigating,” said Captain Mfeka.
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