What started as a routine patrol turned into a textbook takedown when highway cops caught a suspected hijacker red-handed and his accomplices soon after in a smartly executed operation along the N1 near Sasolburg.
It all kicked off around 22:30 on Thursday night, 23 October 2025, when members of the Sasolburg Highway Patrol Relief D spotted a truck parked in the dark with the driver busy reconnecting trailers like he owned the night. Something didn’t sit right, so the officers pulled over to investigate.
When they asked for the paperwork, the driver couldn’t produce a single document for either the load or the truck. That’s when the cops phoned the trailer’s owner, and the story fell apart. The owner confirmed that the load was indeed his but said his truck was a Volvo, not a MAN like the one standing in front of the officers.
The jig was up. The 31-year-old suspect was cuffed right there, and the cops recovered a load of mixed groceries worth about R2 million. But that was just the start.
Realising there was another truck head still out there, the Sasolburg team radioed Kroonstad Highway Patrol Relief C, warning them to look out for the missing Volvo. The coordination paid off big time when Kroonstad officers spotted the matching Volvo cruising down the N1 with two men inside. The pair, aged 33 and 39, were arrested without fuss.
Read | Hijacker Arrested After Crashing Truck During High Speed Chase in Mpumalanga
From the moment the first cop stopped to check that parked truck to the final arrest down the road, the operation unfolded like clockwork, with one arrest leading neatly to the next.
The trio will soon face the music in the Kroonstad and Parys Magistrate’s Courts, charged with possession of suspected stolen property.
Now that’s what you call real highway policing in action.
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