E-tolls help to track hijacked truck

As unpopular as they are,
e-tolls appear to be playing
a constructive role in the
tracking and recovery of
hijacked vehicles.
According to Kitty Hewitt
of Botswana Consolidators,
she was alerted to the
hijacking of one of her
trucks at 19h50 on Monday
evening in Krugersdorp
when the Netstar cable was
cut. The vehicle was en route
to Botswana with a load
of copper cable. She was
however able to track its
movement through the toll
gates – which indicated that
it was still carrying its load
until it reached the Oxpecker
toll.
It was found early on
Thursday morning near
the off-ramp by John
Pearson & Associates (JPA),
international insurance loss
adjusters, together with
Peritus Commercial and
Forensic Specialists, which
operate through a network
of informers in the truck
hijacking space.
Half of its load of cables
had been stolen but the truck
was otherwise intact – apart
from the dashboard which
had been ripped out to
destroy the Netstar device.
According to Hewitt,
the e-tag was functioning
until the hijackers chose to
dispose of it – after which
the truck was tracked via its
number plate.
The driver, who was found
near Swartruggens, told
Hewitt that the hijackers
had been travelling in a
police vehicle and were
wearing police uniforms. He
was badly beaten and was
undergoing tests and scans
before returning home to
Botswana
JPA/Peritus deal with
all aspects of investigation,
including hijackings, and
thanks to its network
of informers in South
Africa and neighbouring
countries, over the past four
to five years have achieved
significant success in
recovering trucks, according
to MD John Pearson.
“On that particular day
we received information
from our informers that a
truck and two trailers had
been parked at a particular
location loaded with copper
cable and their contacts
had indicated that it had
been hijacked and was
simply waiting to be moved
to another location. The
implication
was that
the truck
would be
taken out
of South
Africa.
Part of the
load had
already been
disposed of.”
The company
sent one of its
directors to meet the
informer and the vehicle
was put under surveillance
in the hope that the suspects
would return. “We took the
details of the truck and the
labels on the copper cable
and then contacted the
owners – a service for which
we charge a recovery fee.”
According to Pearson, it’s
a key area of focus for the
company. “A few years ago,
we recovered approximately
R48 million worth of trucks
that were leaving South
Africa with loads.
“We have a network, and
if we’re notified within a
period of three hours from
the time of the incident, our
recovery
rate has
been 70% because
the travelling time for a
truck to reach any border
post requires at least five
hours.”
And while in the past the
trucks have been the main
prize to take across the
border, the load is now an
equal target, he said.
The company’s network
extends to all toll roads, it is
in contact with police cluster
units and has contacts on
all major routes leading
out of South Africa which
ensures quick feedback
and translates into quick
recovery, he added.