More trucks were once again targeted and summarily set on fire in various locations across the country, with a total of 16 trucks burning down over the past few days.
Col. Malesela Ledwaba, police spokesperson in Limpopo, says a truck was stopped by six men on the R547 at Lydenburg in the early hours of the morning on Monday. The truck was on its way to deliver chrome to a mine when it was stopped.
“Two of the suspects had firearms and they ordered the driver to block the road with the truck,” says Ledwaba.
“The driver had to get out of the truck through the window and it was set on fire.”
Two more trucks that were driving behind the first one were also set on fire before the suspects fled.
The drivers of all three trucks were uninjured.
The police are now investigating a case of armed robbery and property damage.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the police also responded on Monday evening to another incident where armed men attacked trucks.
Brig. Jay Naicker, police spokesperson, says officers were called to a section of the N2 between Enseleni and Empangeni at 22:00 after two trucks were set on fire there.
According to Naicker, a group of armed men overpowered and robbed the drivers of the two trucks.
“The drivers were forced out of the trucks before they were set on fire.”
All the drivers in these cases also escaped unharmed.
The police are investigating a case of armed robbery, intentional damage to property and attempted murder.
The latest incidents follow shortly after two previous separate incidents where trucks were stopped and set on fire.
In the first incident, six trucks were set on fire on the Van Reenens Pass in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday evening and another five trucks were set on fire just before the Waterval-Boven tunnel in Mpumalanga.
According to the police, the motive for the attacks is unknown.
No arrests have been made so far.
The Road Freight Association said earlier about one of the initial attacks that it was carried out with “targeted precision”. Fleetwatcha magazine for the road freight industry, has also expressed its concern about the effect that the ongoing attacks will have on the sector and the wider economy.
