Abandoned truck leads cops to 'hijackers' and their loot

Six men and a woman have been arrested for allegedly staging the hijacking of a truck transporting medical supplies in Strydfontein, north of Pretoria.

The bust happened after police officers from Akasia, who were on patrol, spotted officers from a vehicle tracking company attending to an abandoned truck Railway Street in The Orchards area on Tuesday, said police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck, belonging to a health care logistics company, was en route to a wholesaler to deliver medical supplies.

“The logistics company activated the vehicle tracking company when they could not get hold of the truck driver on his mobile phone and suspected the truck had deviated from its authorised route,” said Peters.

“Further investigation led police to a nearby plot in Strydfontein where they found some of the medical supplies that were allegedly offloaded from the truck,” said Peters.

The suspects were arrested on the plot for possession of suspected stolen property.

“The value of the medical supplies is yet to be determined. The arrested suspects will appear before court in due course,” said Peters.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela issued a warning to anyone who intended to collaborate with criminals.

“Not only will they face a charge of perjury, but they could also face an additional charge for their role in the commission of the crime, in this instance, possession of suspected stolen medical supplies,” said Mawela.