Gunshots rang out in Durbanville as hijackers tried to flee from security guards.
|||Cape Town - Gunshots rang out in Durbanville on Tuesday as hijackers tried to flee from security guards.
Shortly after 9am, a delivery truck transporting cigarettes was stormed by a number of armed men in New Street, Durbanville.
The driver, the lone occupant of the truck, was held at gunpoint and ordered to drive to nearby Skilpadvlei Street. Once there, the hijackers unloaded cartons of cigarettes and put them into a getaway vehicle, a white Isuzu LDV. They then fled the scene, according to police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.
However, the Isuzu was intercepted by a security company, alerted by the firm which owned the hijacked vehicle. The guards tried to stop the vehicle but opened fire after the hijackers drove off.
Minutes later, the Isuzu crashed into a Golden Arrow bus on Durban Road.
“Security officers managed to arrest the three suspects on the scene.
“The suspects sustained minor injuries. A case docket of armed robbery was registered,” said Van Wyk.
John Dammert, corporate development manager for Golden Arrow, confirmed that the bus was in operation and carrying passengers at the time of the crash.
“None of the passengers, however, sustained injuries. The driver sustained injuries to his shoulder and was taken to Durbanville Medical Centre for treatment.
He will be on leave until he has recovered,” said Dammert.
Reports of gunshots and a photo of the crash scene, with handcuffed suspects lying next to their overturned vehicle, precipitated a flurry of comments online. The photo and comments were posted on the Facebook page for “Traffic fines, cameras & updates in Western Cape”.
“Apparently cigarette delivery trucks get more hijacked than cash-in-transit vehicles due to the high value of the small and light boxes,” commented Herman Kapp. “The wild west?” asked Inga Prince.
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
Cape Argus