Cop was driving hijacked car

2003-11-18 08:30

Christel Raubenheimer

Pretoria - A couple from Witbank was stunned when they recognised their minibus, which was hijacked a few months ago, outside Pretoria.

They identified it by the exhaust system and followed the vehicle, only to find out that a member of the police's hijacking unit was behind the wheel.

Dave Raath, owner of the vehicle, said they phoned the police when they recognised their minibus in Stormvoël Avenue near Mamelodi. The flying squad was on the scene within minutes.

The driver of the minibus stopped and the Raaths identified the vehicle as theirs.

"The exhaust system is unique because I fitted it like that myself.

"I also changed the wiring of the lights and told the police where to find a particular sticker on the chassis to identify the vehicle as ours," Raath said.

The vehicle was snatched from Raath's wife, Ronel, in the third hijacking she has lived through.

Minibus had 24 unique features

When police checked the registration number, the vehicle did not show up as stolen on the system. It had apparently been "legally" registered at the licence department.

"The police wanted to let the driver go, but investigated more closely when we insisted. We identified the minibus by 24 unique features," said Raath.

Captain Coralie Nel of Pretoria West police confirmed that a policeman had the stolen vehicle.

"From other statements, it seem as if more police officers could be involved in the case," Nel said. The officer driving the minibus told Raath he bought the vehicle legally about a year ago.

While the couple was still making statements to police next to the road, the policeman started to remove loudspeakers and a radio from the minibus.

The man was not arrested nor charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.

The case was referred to the office of the police' national evaluation service. This office was not able to comment on the case.

The Raaths have been hijacked four times in the past two years.

- Beeld