The number of hijackings has increased up to 35 percent in the past two years in KwaZulu-Natal, the Mercury reported on Monday.
Vehicle tracking and insurance companies reported that current hijacking hotspots were Umlazi, Chatsworth, Bluff, Phoenix, Berea, Umbilo, Greenwood Park, Amanzimtoti, Pinetown, Empangeni, and KwaDukuza.
Craig Taylor, managing director of BidTrack vehicle tracking and recovery, formerly known as Bandit, said the company's statistics showed there had been a 21 percent increase in hijackings in KwaZulu-Natal in 2012.
He said: “In most of the incidents of hijacking in KwaZulu-Natal, the hijackers are following their victims home or are patrolling residential areas looking for pre-selected vehicles.”
Tracker spokesman Gareth Crocker said with passenger vehicles, 60-70 percent of all hijackings occurred in either business or residential driveways.
There had also been an increase in truck hijacking in recent months. Thieves went after the cargo they carried.
Vehicles that were mostly targeted were VW and Toyota, and the Hyundai H100 delivery vehicle. - Sapa