Gang-buster grans on warpath
2003-09-19 08:34
Johannesburg - A woman never thought one of her hijackers would be caught, but nobody had bargained with an SMS network of Alexandra "grannies", who helped police nab a suspect within an hour.
Within 10 minutes of hearing about the hijacking in Highlands North, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, 28 "grannies" from the township sent police SMSs from their cellphones and told them where one of the suspects was.
Police reservists from Sandton and Norwood caught the unsuspecting man at his girlfriend's house in Alexandra about an hour after the incident.
The co-operation between Alexandra's "grannies" (woman of esteem in the community) and police is part of a e-blockwatch cellphone network.
The women and their support groups are continuously on the lookout for suspects. Information is then passed on to the ee-blockwatch control centre via SMSs.
Linda Katz, an estate agent from Norwood, said she could not believe it when police told her on Thursday of the arrest. "I thought they would get away with it."
Katz and a colleague, Des van Dyk, were hijacked on Tuesday evening about 18:40 after getting lost in Highlands North.
"Des turned into the driveway of a house. He put the car into reverse and suddenly two men were at the doors.
"The one looked at me with so much hate, I thought he was going to kill me. I just screamed."
Van Dyk hit the accelerator, but one hijacker shot him in the thigh. The suspects fled without taking the luxury car.
Katz said police were at the house within two minutes. "They were wonderful, sympathetic and helpful."
Later, a police reservist sent an SMS to a "granny".
The reservist, who asked not be named, said: "I heard from them in 10 minutes. Without their help we would never have captured the suspect.
"They are the poorest of the poor, but they get involved."
The suspect claims he and three others have been involved in a number of hijackings in Johannesburg. Police hope to track down the other three.
Van Dyk has been discharged from the Johannesburg Hospital and is recovering at home.