Five hijackings in Bay in one day

Five hijackings were reported in Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said the spate of hijackings started at 9.30am when a group of three robbers forced a Ford Bantam bakkie to stop in Ngoyi Street in Kwazakhele.

“The driver of the vehicle transporting the robbers slammed on brakes and swerved across the road, blocking the Bantam from escaping,” he said.

“Three suspects then jumped out of the car and fired a shot into the air. The driver of the bantam was then pulled out of the car and left on the side of the road while the robbers took his bakkie.”

The bakkie was found abandoned in Connacher Street, New Brighton by midday.

At around the same time, a hardware store bakkie was hijacked in Mbane Street, Zwide shortly midday while a bread truck was hijacked in Durban Road at about 1pm.

Both vehicles were recovered within an houre.

Also in the Durban Road area, a 35-year-old was shot in the arm during an attempted hijacking after the suspects robbed a grocery store.

Then, at about 6.30pm, three men ambushed the driver of a Isuzu bakkie in Mandela Street, New Brighton.

“The driver had pulled off the road and was sitting inside the bakkie with two passengers. The bakkie was idling when three men approached the vehicle from behind. The driver was held at gunpoint and all three were forced out of the car,” he said.

“Their cellphones and other valuables were stolen before the suspects sped off in the bakkie.”

The bakkie was found abandoned in Old Grahamstown Road, Deal Party at about 7pm.

“Patrolling police members found the bakkie on the side of the road. It was then established that this was the hijacked bakkie,” Beetge said.

“By that stage the suspects had already fled.”

On Monday morning a DSV logistics courier truck was hijacked while staff were off-loading pharmaceuticals at a pharmacy in Govan Mbeki Avenue, Central.

Beetge said the cases were being investigated by the Motherwell cluster hijacking task team.