Tech-savvy hijackers get busier

As the festive season approaches, truck hijackings are expected to increase in line with an upsurge in demand for goods – particularly food and fuel. More worryingly, the crimes are becoming more sophisticated as hijackers become increasingly techsavvy. Gavin Kelly, technical and operations manager at the Road Freight Association (RFA), told FTW that there were two types of truck hijackers – the opportunists who take advantage when a truck is vulnerable (a lonely highway late at night) and those hijackings that are planned and targeted at specific goods. “They know there is a demand for specific goods and thus know they will be able to sell off the goods fast,” he said. And as investigators, industry and the police have improved their technology to prevent or catch hijackers, so too have hijackers become more techsavvy by using sophisticated jamming devices to bypass a truck’s tracking device. According to Kelly, the less sophisticated hijackers use a device that scrambles the truck’s tracking system. “The truck simply disappears off the system and of course those monitoring the system immediately know something is fishy and alert the trucking company and the authority,” he noted. A second type of jamming device mimics the truck’s tracking system and sends out a duplicate signal showing the truck is standing stationary somewhere. Other methods include hijackers creating ‘police’ or ‘fire brigade’ roadblocks, using bogus vehicles and uniforms, which Kelly says very closely mimic the “real thing”, leading to speculation that actual officials are sometimes involved. In July this year, four Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) traffic officials involved in a truck hijacking were arrested by Gauteng police. A highranking South African Police Service (Saps) official told FTW confidentially that more arrests were likely of other police and traffic officials whom they suspected were involved. Chris Barry from truck insurance agency HCV said truck theft was a “professional business” and that there were clear indications that truck hijackings were being organised by sophisticated cross-border gangs. He said part of the problem was South Africa’s porous borders, high levels of corruption in the police force, and in some cases poor screening within companies. “We recommend that fleet owners take a proactive rather than reactive approach when it comes to risk management and mitigate the impact of attempted hijackings,” said Barry. Kelly agreed that crossborder hijacking was increasing. “The truck hijacking task force we established with the police is working to ascertain exactly how many trucks hijacked in South Africa are taken across borders.” Kelly said that foodstuffs such as cooking oil and maize meal were in high demand across the border. Kelly suggested that fleet owners fit good tracking devices and arrange 24-hour monitoring of their trucks and that they train their drivers to be on high-alert for danger signs that they are being targeted. Drivers should also be trained on how to deal with a hijacking situation, making sure that they provide information to the truck hijacking hotline so that hijacking hotspots and changes in modus operandi can be identified and so prevent future hijackings,” he said. Furthermore, Kelly said that f leet owners could minimise exposure by travelling in daylight hours and by ensuring their trucks are regularly maintained to prevent unexpected breakdowns.