Pretoria - Motorists using the Theo Martins mountains in the Magaliesberg are urged to continue their vigilance as the highway along the R80 continues to be dangerous.
To avoid putting themselves at risk, the Gauteng Provincial Police advise against making unnecessary stops as criminals lurk in the shadows.
The warning comes as more motorists have been seen making stops to walk up the mountain and see the view in the north of the City, as well as to take pictures of some of the graffiti emblazoned on the hillside.
Others stop to deal with mechanical faults, or to relieve themselves, and this, in the past year, left many robbed of their vehicles, their belongings and seriously injured or dead.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said police had made a breakthrough late last year in arresting a number of suspects who were subsequently linked to the crimes committed in the area.
Peters added that in response to complaints and cases reported at various stations in the surrounding areas, the police had also heightened their visibility, which had resulted in the number of incidents going down.
She said despite the strides made in combating crime in the area, having motorists resuming stops in the area was not safe.
“The results of the interventions and arrests should not be misconstrued to mean the area is now safe.
“While police continue to patrol the area and perform normal crime-prevention activities, motorists are still cautioned to refrain from activities that expose them to criminals, such as stopping unnecessarily along the road, especially at night.”
Peters’s sentiments were shared by the local community policing forum, which said they had noticed more motorists starting to make stops in the area, especially after the October arrest of nine people for their suspected involvement in the attacks.
Tienie Voster of the Amandasig Action Group and the Akasia Community Policing Forum, said issues of criminals using the mountain has always been a problem for them.
Vorster admitted that there had been no incidents picked up by them for some time now, but they still continued to urge people to avoid making stops there.
“We’re not even sure why people make stops there, whether it’s to take in the view of the lights or perform what they want to, but stopping there is just taking risks.”
Issues surrounding criminals targeting motorists stopping in the area came to the fore after angry motorists and tow-truck drivers blocked the highway in October, following a series of voice notes trending on social media, of motorists detailing how they had been stabbed and robbed in the area by a group who allegedly hid on the mountain.
People in the voice notes could be heard confirming each other’s stories about how the criminals attacked unsuspecting motorists who stopped mainly to relieve themselves or attend to mechanical problems, but were then dragged away from the road.
They said the suspects were violent and stabbed their victims numerous times, as they forced them to give up their valuables and send them cash, while their colleagues went to withdraw money from their accounts.
Renowned former Comrades Marathon champion Nick Bester was among those who found himself in ICU in September, after he too was attacked and robbed in a similar incident on the Magaliesberg mountains.
SAPS and the metro police officers, who embarked on a search of the area shortly after the protest, found evidence suggesting that people could be frequently visiting the mountain, hiding up and storing their goods there.
At the time they collected cellphone pouches, empty boxes of cigarettes, clothing items, credit cards and (driving) licences, that could belong to people who might have fallen victim to the suspects.
By early November, nine men had been arrested and appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court in connection with the violent attacks on motorists.
Eight of them were foreign nationals and one South African, with the state indicating intent to request that bail be denied as they were in the country illegally.
At the last appearance the state was verifying their status, and yesterday they said that process was still ongoing, and a date for appearance in court would be announced soon.
Pretoria News