Alcohol worth R2.5-million was stolen during the brazen hijacking of a liquor delivery truck in East London.
A police source, who asked not to be named as he is not permitted to speak to the media, said the truck driver was accosted by armed assailants shortly after leaving the depot in Wilsonia. The incident happened last Thursday.
“After leaving the firm the hijackers forced him into a light motor vehicle and drove him to Fort Beaufort where the hijackers dumped him. He reported the matter to the police there.
“The truck was fitted with a tracker, but the suspects used a jamming device to jam the signal. Information was received that the liquor was taken to Sterkstroom and offloaded at a local nightclub.
“The truck was found abandoned on the N6 close to the Sterkstroom turn-off. It was not damaged and the keys were still in the ignition.”
According to a police officer, four suspects were arrested after they were found with suspected stolen brandy in two locations in the small town.
“The first suspect was arrested in the Sonwabile location where he was found with a truck fully loaded with Viceroy and Commando brandy.
“In town at a local nightclub, more stashes of the same brands were recovered both inside the club and in two panel vans and a bakkie. Three suspects, including a club owner, were arrested,” the officer said.
The officer said it was believed the owner of the pub was the mastermind behind the hijacking. This, however, was not how the court saw the matter.
“The three men turned state witnesses and were released on Friday. The [club owner] appeared in court today [Monday] but the case against him was dismissed.”
A second police source said more than 1,000 boxes of brandy were recovered.
Distell media relations officer Dennis Matsane confirmed the incident.
“I can confirm that the incident took place and that the matter is currently under investigation by the police. “The driver was not injured and Distell is providing all the necessary counselling support.”
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana did not respond to a request for comment.
In August 2020, Business Day reported that a Distell plant in Johannesburg was robbed of truckloads of alcohol worth about R1m.
Later, DispatchLIVE reported on a brazen heist of a liquor delivery truck by nine robbers — three of them believed to be police officers — which played out on the N6 near Macleantown. Liquor worth R180,000 was stolen.
The Eastern Cape Liquor Forum said hijacking of liquor delivery trucks was a great concern as it was perpetrated by people with illegal trading licences.
The forum’s secretary-general Vuyani Mnyabiso said local people who rented out their trading licences were not helping the situation.
“Those with no trading papers are squeezing us out of business because they use every trick in the book to ensure that they get stock at a very low or no cost at all.
“We want the licences of these two establishments suspended until the investigation into the matter is concluded,” Mnyabiso said.
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