Johannesburg - The torching of trucks continues unabated in KwaZulu-Natal and now in Limpopo, following two separate incidents on Monday.
This comes after two more trucks were set alight on the N2 highway, near Empangeni in KZN, on Monday night.
This incident was preceded by another case of arson reported in Lydenburg, Limpopo, on the same day, where three more trucks were also brought down to ashes by unknown perpetrators.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said both incidents in the province followed a similar pattern where drivers were forced out of their vehicles before the trucks were burnt down.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, police in Sekhukhune have launched a manhunt for six people who committed an armed robbery and malicious damage to property after three heavy trucks were burnt.
Ledwaba said the incident happened on Monday along the R547 Lydenburg Road in Sekhukhune.
This brings the total number of trucks burnt to 16 following Sunday morning’s incident, where six trucks were torched near Van Reenen in the early hours of Sunday, resulting in traffic being brought to a standstill on the N3.
In the latest incident in Lydenburg, Ledwaba said a driver was en route to deliver goods when the armed robbers pounced on him.
"According to information, the complainant was driving a Scania truck along the R547 Lydenburg Road and Sekhukhune Road heading to deliver chrome at a local mine when he was accosted by six unknown males on the road."
"Two suspects were armed with firearms. He (the driver) was pointed with a firearm and instructed to block the road with the truck and to disembark through the window. The suspects burned the truck afterwards," Ledwaba said.
Ledwaba said two more incidents were subsequently reported where a Scania and a Mercedes-Benz Actros that were driving behind the first truck were also burnt by the assailants.
According to the SABC, the stretch of the N2 highway between Empangeni and Richards Bay has become a centre of criminal activity, with frequent reports of trucks being targeted in hijackings and burnings.
In the latest incident, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker says two trucks were set alight as they waited in a queue along the N2 freeway in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, last night.
It is alleged that a group of armed men attacked the truck drivers and robbed them of their belongings.
The Star