Pretoria - The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) has warned motorists to be vigilant when driving on the N4 highway due to an increase in criminal activity, particularly the use of spikes to puncture car tyres.
In an incident on Tuesday evening, TMPD officers patrolling the highway found a motorist stranded after one of his vehicle wheels went over spikes placed on the road near the Solomon Mahlangu Drive off-ramp, puncturing the tyre, the department’s spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said in a statement.
“The motorist explained to the officers that he had driven into something that looked like a plastic bag when he heard the puncture ... The motorist was fortunately not robbed,” he said.
“These spikes are usually placed by criminals to force vehicles to stop after driving over the spikes. Motorists are then attacked by these perpetrators, especially at night and in the early hours of the morning. Targeted areas are mostly highways and quiet roads.”
The TMPD would continue to prioritise patrols along such roads, Mahamba added.
On Monday, national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole called for the speedy arrest of at least two suspects wanted for the murder of a police officer on the same highway. Another officer was wounded in the incident.
In a statement, national police spokesman Brigadier Vish Naidoo said the two constables from Boschkop police station were on patrol when they spotted a white VW Polo without registration plates travelling in the vicinity of the N4 near the Solomon Mahlangu on ramp.
They ordered the driver of the car to stop, but as they approached the vehicle on foot, two male suspects emerged from the VW Polo and a scuffle ensued, leading to both constables being shot and their firearms taken.
African News Agency (ANA)