Johannesburg Metro Police recover an Uber driver who was hijacked in Alexandra, leading to the arrest of one suspect.
Image: Itumeleng English Independent Newspapers
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) said that it had recovered an Uber driver who was hijacked in Alexandra.
JMPD officers received a complaint about the missing Uber driver from the owner of the vehicle and were able to track down the vehicle.
“The officers proceeded to the given location for verification. On arrival, they saw a male coming out of the said vehicle. When the male noticed the officers approaching him, he fled and a chase ensued. The officers apprehended him,” according to the department.
During questioning, the police officers heard someone screaming and knocking on the boot of the hijacked vehicle.
The officers opened the boot and found the Uber driver inside. The driver said that he was hijacked by 3 males and identified the arrested suspect as one of his hijackers.
He noted that the 3 males threatened him with a gun and then subsequently locked him in the boot of the vehicle.
“The suspect was found in possession of the Uber driver's vehicle keys and police arrested him for kidnapping and hijacking. He was detained at Alexandra police station.
On Friday, the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said that the department has made incredible strides when it came to tackling high-profile criminal cases.
The Hawks National Head, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, said that in the reporting period, a total of 1,452 suspects had been secured before various courts in the country, including 1 409 individuals and 43 corporate entities.
“Of these arrests, 451 were South Africans, while 958 were foreign nationals,” he explained.
“These arrests targeted people involved in serious corruption, serious organised crime, serious commercial crime, including fraud, theft, money laundering, cybercrime, police killings, cash-in-transit robberies, other armed robberies, kidnapping for ransom, State capture, illegal mining, counterfeit goods, tax-related offences, Covid-19-related offences, drug trafficking and trafficking in persons,” Lebeya noted.
He also said that the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) had helped secure 96 freezing and forfeiture orders, amounting to R55 million.
Moreover, Lebeya said that more than R2 million has been deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA).
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