The first quarter of 2015 saw a sharp climb in truck and car hijackings in South Africa, with experts predicting further increases as economic and social conditions deteriorate. With 1 150 truck hijackings in the financial year to February 2015 – an increase of 16% – the trend is causing increasing concern to South African Express Parcel Association (Saepa) members, said a spokesman for the industry association. John Edmeston, global chief financial officer of Cartrack Holdings, comments: “As economic growth contracts, unemployment figures grow and regard for the rule of law deteriorates, leading to an automatic increase in theft and hijackings of vehicles, trucks and cargoes for sale into the illicit local and crossborder markets.”
