Several incidents highlight a disturbing trend in local criminal activity, where firearms were frequently used to intimidate and assault victims.
A local delivery driver endured a traumatic experience after allegedly being hijacked at gunpoint during a routine parcel delivery in Molly Street, Del Judor.
According to the police, the victim was in the process of delivering a parcel on June 19, when she arrived at the house on Molly Street, driving a Kia Cerato.

She parked in front of the house and started contacting the customer to collect the parcel when she was approached by two unknown men.

One of the men, allegedly armed with a firearm, confronted her at the driver’s side window. He instructed her to unlock the vehicle and move to the middle seat.

The alleged armed man then entered the car, followed by his accomplice, who took control of the steering wheel.

They drove off in the victim’s vehicle, while a second vehicle, presumed to be theirs, trailed behind.

The convoy stopped at a residence in Mona Street, where the armed man allegedly told the woman to get in their vehicle, instructing her to sit in the backseat.
As they opened the boot of her car, neighbourhood dogs began barking, drawing unwanted attention.

The men drove to a more secluded location near the Puma Garage in Jackaroo Park. In the cover of nearby bushes, the kidnappers allegedly offloaded all parcels from the victim’s vehicle into their own vehicle before forcing her out and fleeing the scene.
On the same day, at around 18:40, a man was walking along Machibini Drive in Ext 14 when a white VW Polo TSI without number plates pulled up.

Two alleged armed men demanded his cellphone. Upon refusal, one of the armed men fired a shot at him, while the other assaulted him with a firearm. They fled the scene with his Samsung A6, leaving the man stranded and injured on the side of the road.

In another incident earlier in the week on June 17, a man was robbed in Ext 7.

Two males approached and greeted him. One, who is known to the victim, allegedly pointed a firearm at him and forced him to cross the street.

The man told police the alleged armed man made him kneel and surrender his belongings, taking two cellphones, cash, and his wallet.

A passing vehicle startled the robbers, and they fled the scene soon after.

On the same day, two security guards were ambushed while on duty under the Layland railway bridge.

They were guarding railway cables when two alleged armed males appeared. The guards were allegedly threatened at gunpoint and with a knife before being robbed of an F10 hand radio, two Samsung cellphones, and other items.

“These incidents underscore the urgent need for community vigilance to avoid hotspot areas. Report any suspicious-looking vehicles, and if approached by a stranger while in your car, drive off, if possible or press your hooter to attract attention. If strangers loiter near or at your driveway, rather drive past. If they loiter for a long time, report it to your nearest police station,” said Captain Eddie Hall, spokesperson of Witbank Police.

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Chat to us: SAPS urges public vigilance as firearm-linked crimes sweep through eMalahleni