Residents in the area surrounding Mulder Street/ Christiaan de Wet Road were alarmed late yesterday afternoon when a large police contingent swarmed the area.
It later transpired that it was the scene where hijackers abandoned a hijacked vehicle. A Northcliff resident, Yolanda Venter, was shopping at Sportsmans Warehouse near Cresta shopping centre when she fell prey to a hijacking. When she returned to her Land Rover at about 3.15pm she put her shopping bags in the boot of the vehicle and tipped the car guard. As she was about to get into her vehicle the car guard shouted a warning at her. At first she thought he was trying to warn the driver of a black Audi A5 that he was going to reverse into her vehicle but then two men jumped out and approached her. One pointed a firearm at her while the other had a bag in his hand, believed to have contained a ‘jammer’.
They demanded her vehicle keys at gunpoint and started searching her despite her telling them the keys were in her handbag inside the vehicle. When the hijackers eventually turned to look for the handbag she used the opportunity to flee back into Sportsmans Warehouse. A man in a bakkie saw what took place and chased after the hijackers but lost them on Beyers Naudé Drive.
Meanwhile Venter phoned her daughter, instructing her to contact their insurance broker. Her daughter switched on the cellphone tracker and managed to tell Netstar and the police where the hijacked vehicle with the phone inside was heading.
It is suspected that the hijackers lost their nerve when they realised they might be followed by the tracking company. They abandoned the vehicle on Mulder Street near Florida Junction. It was still idling when it was found. The hijackers fled the scene. It is uncertain whether they fled on foot or in a getaway vehicle.
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