Booze worth R1.4m recovered after hijacked EC truck tracked

Port Elizabeth police have recovered R1.4m worth of liquor after the truck transporting the stash was hijacked on Thursday morning.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the truck, loaded with liquor valued at more than R1.5m, had been on its way to deliver to retailers when it was hijacked by four men in Grahamstown Road at about 7am.

She said four men in a blue VW Polo had emerged from the vehicle and approached the moving truck, which was forced to slow down.

“Two suspects entered the truck and forced the driver and his crew to stop,” Naidu said.

The truck, with the driver and his crew, were then driven to Paterson Road and then to an unknown location where the liquor was offloaded.

The truck, driver and crew were then abandoned in Victoria Drive, Walmer.

At about 9.45am, members of the Port Elizabeth K9 unit recovered the truck and the crew. Two cellphones had also been taken, Naidu said.

After further investigation, K9 unit members assisted by a private tracking company recovered the stolen liquor at a warehouse in Marine Drive near Schoenmakerskop at about 11am.  

Some of the liquor had already been removed from the warehouse.

In all, 652 sealed cases of various types of liquor and 46 loose bottles as well as three pressure trolley jacks had been recovered, Naidu said.

The total value of the recovered alcohol was about R1.4m.

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