Truck hijacking has increased in recent months, according to the latest crime statistics released by Minister of Police Bheki Cele on Wednesday, and incidents are expected to spike as the festive season approaches.
Cele released the latest SAPS crime statistics for the period July to September, which showed that more than 6 000 carjackings had been reported to the police from July to September.
This represents a 23.6% increase in carjackings, while truck hijackings rose by 36.8%. Cash-in-transit van robberies increased by 7.7% (four incidents) for the period. The crime figures are compared to the same period in 2021 when the country was still under lockdown levels 4, 3 and 2 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reacting to the crime statistics, Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly said it was sad that the rate of hijacking was increasing.
“What is the rate of interceptions and successful prosecutions? We also need, from SAPS, an indication of how they are faring against this onslaught,” Kelly said.
Meanwhile, a message circulating on WhatsApp by a former SAPS captain, who founded Wimpie Nel Forensic Investigations, has warned that after a meeting with crime intelligence officials and a Zimbabwean informer it has emerged that there will likely be a spike in hijackings, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, in the coming weeks. Freight News spoke to Nel on Thursday and he verified that the warning was in fact legitimate.
“I had a meeting with members of Crime Intelligence and a Zimbabwean informer. The next four weeks into 20 December are crucial in the combatting of container and load theft. Please ask all your clients to ensure that all processes are followed, that the correct driver and truck collect/deliver a container, and have steps in place to ensure early indication that something is wrong,” he said.
“At this stage, Red Bull, tyres, copper, food, Colgate products, cooking oil and household goods are hot commodities.”
Kelly also warned that the risk of truck hijackings was likely to rise as the country headed into the festive season.
“The risk (incidents) of hijackings of freight vehicles does increase towards the festive season as there is, in the minds of the criminals, a far greater number of higher-value shipments (parcels/packages/loads) than normal due to the festive season,” Kelly said.
“We have seen this tendency quite often in the past - and this year would not be any different from other years. The questions to ask would be whether the ratio is increasing, whether the risk is getting worse, and whether the current economic climate is creating a far greater demand for stolen goods. If the answers are yes - then we know what sort of focus the law enforcement agencies need to place on this over the next couple of months,” Kelly said.
