Durban - Police have recovered the Ford Ranger belonging to the KwaZulu-Natal Department Transport, Community Safety and Liaison after it was hijacked outside uMlazi on Wednesday.
A team of technicians were travelling from a site where they were fixing the L1159 road in Umbumbulu, south of Durban, which was washed away during the recent heavy rains and flooding.
The department said the incident happened at the Shell garage at KwaMuthwa outside uMlazi on Freedom Day.
The technicians were held up at gunpoint and the suspects fled in the department's white Ford Ranger double cab (KZN 13445).
The department said a case of carjacking was opened at uMlazi V police station.
The department said Road Traffic Inspectorate officers working on a tip-off, managed to recover the vehicle at Folweni area, where it was abandoned.
The vehicle was no longer in a drivable condition, however it was towed to the pound.
MEC Peggy Nkonyeni commended the working partnership between the community and the police which resulted in the recovery of the vehicle.
Nkonyeni expressed appreciation to members of the community and the police.
““We commend the members of the public who helped the law enforcement locate and recover the state vehicle. The bravery of our RTI officers working with other law enforcement agencies is noticeable. This shows that if communities and the police work together, we can fight and defeat crime and criminals. Car theft is one of the most serious crimes and we must all work together to defeat it.
“The state equipment and personnel belong to the public and they must protect these assets for us to continue with service delivery. We still want to see the perpetrators who are terrorising the community brought to book, and we urge our staff to be vigilant,” Nkonyeni said.
The department added that their teams were hard at work, collaborating with other spheres of government as part of the recovery and reconstruction plan to rebuild the province.
Heavy plant equipment and departmental personnel from other parts of the province were assigned to assist flood-ravaged areas such as the eThekwini Metro, Ugu, Ilembe and King Cetshwayo districts.
The department said that more than 1 369 road infrastructure projects were affected by recent floods and required an estimate of R6.3 billion to repair the damage and restore safe connectivity in the province.
Daily News