A joint operation between the South African Police Service (SAPS), Ekurhuleni Metro Police, and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has led to the bust of a hijacking syndicate operating in Johannesburg.
The task force recently received a tip-off about a syndicate that allegedly hijacks and steals vehicles from South Africa and transports them to the neighbouring Kingdom of eSwatini.
Further investigations led the team to a house in Kibler Park, south of Johannesburg, where officers saw sure signs of a syndicate.
Inside the yard there were four vehicles, including:
- A BMW 3 Series that was tampered with
- A Land Rover Discovery 3
- An Isuzu D-Max bakkie that was reportedly hijacked in Heidelberg
- A Toyota Fortuner that was reportedly hijacked in Jeppe
Inside the house, police discovered different eSwatini registration plates, various eSwatini car registration documents, homemade VINs, stencils for printing VINs, and other implements generally used for hijackings and vehicle thefts.
A 37-year-old eSwatini national was found in the house and subsequently arrested and charged with possession of hijacked motor vehicles, with more arrests expected to follow as the investigation unfolds.
The SAPS believes these individuals are part of a larger syndicate that focuses on smuggling South African vehicles across the border.
How a hijacking syndicate works
Hijacking syndicates operate in a similar fashion to drug cartels, often employing low-ranking criminals that have a connection to the syndicate in one way or another to do the dirty work, said hijack prevention experts MasterDrive.
Usually, these thieves were once part of the gang and are now looking to make easy money.
The people at the top of the organisation field orders from clients for specific vehicles, which are then relayed to the lower-ranking criminals who must carry out the attacks.
MasterDrive said vehicles are generally chosen due to high demand for parts of that particular model on the black market, while others are targeted for their capabilities.
After identifying their target in a public area – often in a shopping centre parking lot – the criminals most often follow that vehicle home where they will then hijack it and take it back to their hideout either to strip it for parts or prepare it for smuggling across the border.
Evidence shows that as much as 71% of all hijackings happen within the victims’ driveways.
“Most of the time the vehicle they are looking for has already been ordered, now it is just a matter of finding this vehicle to deliver to the syndicate,” said MasterDrive.
Car-tracking firm Cartrack highlighted that the main destinations for vehicles hijacked and stolen in South Africa remain Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, or Zimbabwe.
Syndicates use various methods to get the cars to these countries, including building makeshift ramps across border walls, working with poor locals who live near the borders and need money, and reportedly even getting assistance from the police.
From here, the cars are often fitted with fake number plates and bootlegged into Zambia.
Zambia is seen as the link to the rest of the continent as it shares its borders with eight countries: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Hijacker’s hideout in Kibler Park, Johannesburg
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