In three separate instances truck drivers were held at gunpoint and robbed of their belongings and/or stock on the truck.
On April 22 a truck driver approached the toll gate. There were a number of trucks waiting in queue to pass through the tollgate. Two armed suspects approached the truck, one at the left window and the other on the opposite window, they told the driver to make a u-turn.
The driver got out of the truck and ran off towards the plaza seeking help. The two suspects were able to catch up to him, they restrained him and took him back to the truck. He managed to get free again and ran to one of the other trucks to seek help.
On returning to the truck, the driver noticed that the rear had been opened up and that 16 boxes of stock were missing, to the value of R60 000.
On April 23 another truck driver was resting in his cabin at the toll plaza when he felt the truck shaking. He checked his mirror and noticed someone tossing boxes, he hooted in attempt to wake the other drivers.
Three suspects climbed from the rear of the truck, the driver got out of the truck to look what had been stolen.
When he opened the doors a man pointed a firearm at him and told him to move into the open field where he was bound, the robber then took his bankcard and threatened to shoot him, asking for the pin.
The driver was later able to free himself of his bonds, and discovered that R1 050 had been withdrawn from his bank account.
On the same day a driver was travelling towards Nelspruit and had just reached the N4 Toll gate. He stopped alongside the road so that his crew could make use of the bathrooms.
At this point five suspects, one armed with a knife, the other with a firearm, approached the truck and robbed the driver of his cellular phones as well as his colleagues’ phones.
“Truck drivers making use of the N4 and N12, should be cautious as there is a group of suspects operating in the surrounding areas, especially at night. Drivers should be weary of suspects wandering about their vehicles and should report them to the authorities and the toll plaza personnel,” said Capt Eddie Hall, police communications officer.
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