Durban - The Glenwood community is on high alert after a spate of car thefts and hijackings in recent weeks.
This was confirmed by Vanessa Burger of the Umbilo Action Group who said a hijacking syndicate was suspected to be behind incidents.
Heather Rorick of the Umbilo Community Police Forum said the Umbilo precinct was affected. It included Glenwood, Glenmore, Umbilo and Carrington Heights.
After carrying out a hijacking, criminals left the area, “presumably because they know the area is being monitored”, she said. She warned motorists to be aware while they were parking their vehicles, as hijacking victims often told them they had seen someone lurking around.
“If you feel something is not right, rather park somewhere else,” said Rorick.
Last Tuesday, a woman was hijacked outside the Glenwood Village Centre. Her white BMW 320i was taken with her seven-month-old daughter. The infant was found unharmed soon afterwards and the car was recovered.
A day earlier, a Mercedes-Benz owner was hijacked near Lena Ahrens (Manning) Road.
In the past month, a white Kia was reported stolen from the corner of Queen Mary Drive and Umbilo Road and a white Golf was reported to have been hijacked in the same area. A BMW owner was held up in Bulwer Road.
Nico Potgieter of the security company Enforce said he had received information that the hijackers were living in the area.
He said after they had hijacked a car the criminals often parked it at a hospital or shopping centre “for about a day in case the car is equipped with a tracking device”.
Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said cases of hijacking were being investigated.
The Mercury