Johannesburg - The police believe the arrest of two men in connection with a hijacking could mean a breakthrough against an organised Gauteng criminal gang.
The gang is linked to eight cases, including hijacking and possession of unlicensed firearms.
However, the gang’s latest attack, in which it allegedly hijacked a bakkie at gunpoint and kidnapped the driver, may be its last.
Police nabbed the men as they tried to flee. One of the suspects was out on bail for armed robbery at the time.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, three men confronted the driver of a white Ford Bantam bakkie along Old Pretoria Road in Midrand just after midday on Wednesday
The men pointed firearms at the driver, ordered him out of the vehicle and forced him to hand over his vehicle.
“One suspect took his vehicle keys while the other one tied him with cables. The suspects then kidnapped him and drove towards Alexandra. He was pushed out of his company vehicle near Kelvin Drive into the bushes… He later contacted his employer, who activated the tracking signal,” he said.
Dlamini said the SAPS and Joburg metro police picked up the signal of the hijacked vehicle.
As they approached the vehicle, three men jumped out and fled on foot, he said.
Two were arrested and the third escaped.
The Star