Hijackers caught sleeping on the job

A band of alleged hijackers were sleeping peacefully in the doublecab bakkie they had just hijacked when they were rudely woken up by Tracker and the SAPS Port Elizabeth Flying Squad in Jeffrey's Bay this morning (October 24, 2007).

The drama began at around 21h00 last night when a Tracker customer was hijacked in Motherwell by five armed men. He contacted Tracker approximately two hours later and the vehicle was activated.

"We tracked the vehicle to Jeffrey's Bay shortly before three in the morning and our recovery crews could not believe what they found as they rounded a corner. All the suspects appeared to be sleeping in the vehicle. As they approached the scene, some of the suspects woke up and tried to flee. One of the men was shot in the buttocks and four of the five men were arrested. One suspect managed to escape," says Gareth Crocker, Tracker's Communications Manager.

One firearm was recovered on the scene.

"We believe the guys must have been driving around for a long time and simply tired themselves out. However, we still can't work out why they chose to sleep in the vehicle," says Crocker.

The suspects have been detained at the Jeffrey's Bay Police Station.