Hijack Hot Spots – JHB Club Area
If you have know of any Hi-Jack Hot Spots on road or MTB routes, pls send them to clubpr@cyclelab.com so we can feature on our website.
The latest Hot Spots reported are: - Quarry area near Irene - 2 Specialized were hijacked from members here.
- Main road crossing over Hi-Way towards Grosvenor Crossing
- London Rd, off Summit Rd, near Kyalami (just off the 94.7 route)
- 3rd Road Chartwell, just past Broadacres
- Witkoppen Road near to Waterford Landrover
- 12th Avenue on the Spruit exit, near the River Side Shopping Centre
- Ontdekkers road crossing N1
Please Members Be Very Careful!
Never ride alone and keep to groups of 5 or more riders.
Hijack Hot Spots – Pretoria Club Area
Our club is committed to ensure safe cycling and received numerous requests regarding info on the hijacking hotspots in the Centurion/Irene area.
At Cycle Lab Centurion we are currently collecting info to draw-up a map of the area to distribute to our club members and the SAPD where hijacking hotspots are indicated on.
We therefore kindly request all members that have info available regarding hijacking hotspots or hijackers modus operandi to send it to davidlab@cyclelab.com
But we kindly request members not to ride on their own in the veldt. Please join our MTB club ride on Saturday’s @ 6am from the shop.
The following information is available regarding the hijacking syndicate:
The syndicate consists out of four to six men, armed with sticks, knives, a golf club and in some cases an axe. They are opportunists and target MTB groups smaller than 5 riders. They use dense vegetation to ambush the riders, or would walk next to each other in a jeep track stepping in front and knocking the riders down when they want to pass. They are not particular violent but they could get depending on the situation if they are confronted. Once they have hijacked a group they usually split into smaller groups to avoid being tracked and also use the vegetation as cover. With the burning of the veldt, the syndicate concentrates on the areas which still have vegetation left such as blue gum bush and tall grass.
The syndicate does not target particular bicycles and will take whatever they perceive as valuable. The end destination of the hijacked bicycles are not known, but it is likely that the bicycles find their way across the SA border.
We can list a couple of places where hijacking has taken place. However, the syndicate changes location frequently and it is more important for the riders to be always vigilant and be on high alert when cycling past dense vegetation.
The places that are hot spots:
• The blue gum bushes on the hill south of Smut’s House
• Tall grass behind the Engen Garage on the R21
• The single track next to the N1/Botha Ave off-ramp.
• There was another incident this Sunday at the R21 – please MTB’ers rather stay in a big group – don’t cycle by yourself!!!!!
Please don’t cycle by yourselves – please join your local clubs or stay in a group!
Various Incidents that have taken place
WARNING - Sunday 4 October 2009
This morning at about 8h00 six of us where riding our mountain bikes past the lion cages at the Lion Park when we were held up at gun point by three well organized individuals. They stole bikes, cycling shoes, cell phones, money, camel packs etc. They throw three bikes over the fence into the Lion Park, removed everyone’s cycling shoes and made-off with the three most expensive bikes. Clearly they have done this before and are not concerned about the size of the group. Regards Rob Zuccollo
A very dangerous situation has arisen in the Chartwell North area. It would appear that Mountain Bike riders returning from Northern Farm via Herron Bridge to Fourways usually enter via Chartwell North at the gate at Runnymeade - Cnr 9th or lower.
Within 4 weeks there were 3 armed bicycle hijackings in the general area see detail below.
We would like to encourage people to ride in groups 4 or bigger, not to stop for any suspicious pedestrian no matter how friendly they may seem.
1st 20 March - Husband and wife riders
Two cyclists were hijacked on Sat 20 March at about 10am just outside Chartwell's bottom gate - (a lady that stables at Doug Andrew) her husband and friend from overseas returned from cycling at Northern Farm. They had gone over the Heron Bridge low level bridge and cycled up the hill back to Chartwell. They were held up by two black men walking in the road (one armed with a knife and one with a gun). The husband had his T-shirt slashed open in front, lucky they did not shoot. Their two bikes, wallet, ruck-sack, watches and cell phones were stolen.
2nd 27 March - 2 male riders
There apparently was an attack on 2 cyclists in the morning either in Runnymead or the dirt road behind it. I was told that they were beaten up quite badly I don't know what was taken from them.
3rd 9 April - 3 male riders
On Saturday 09/04/2010 at around 09H00 we were attached by two armed African men whilst riding our Mountain Bikes, one had a knife and the other a gun. This occurred as we were entering the gate at the bottom of Ninth. The guys seemed friendly and even spoke to us before they attacked, and had just been chatting to two ladies on horseback prior to the incident. They seemed to know exactly what they were doing, and obviously have done this before. After taking two bikes and our backpacks they then went along the path to Diepsloot. While we were lucky in the fact there were no injuries, the fact that they attacked three guys in broad daylight and in the open, indicates just how brazen they are, and with this latest success who knows what could be next.
Sunday 2nd October - Hoekplaats
3 of us were on an off road ride and held up on Saturday morning (2 October 2010) by 2 armed men near Hoekplaats in Centurion / Erasmia area. (GPS coordinates are -25.852456, 28.076946) at about 08h00. They ambushed us and then tied us up face down on the ground and took all our valuables (and obviously the bikes). The men indicated to us that they had been watching us ride there previously and asked us where our other two usual riding partners were. They kept us there for at least 30 minutes and were in no hurry whatsoever to clear the area.
We are all fine and diffused the situation by co-operating and remaining calm. Having been through a few hold ups I can assure you this is the best way to respond particularly if you are taken by surprise. They knew what they were doing and made sure they kept their distance until we were well tied up.
The bikes that were taken are as follows:
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1) Scott Spark 15 2009 (with Epic sticker). Black with Yellow and white trim
2) GT Marathon Team Bike 2010. Black Carbon with silver and a bit of yellow
3) GT Marathon Pro 2009. Silver with a bit of black carbon
I am convinced that someone has to be behind this as they must be creating a market for these bikes. My bike for example is only one of very few of its kind in South Africa. We must be able to start to track down whoever is ‘redistributing’ these bikes into the market. There are possibilities that these bikes are making their way across our borders, but there is also a good chance that they are staying right here. Please also send to people in other provinces as the bikes may well make there way there too.
Should you ever be buying a second hand bike please make an effort to enquire as to the details of the previous owner and somehow make sure it is not a stolen bike. We have to stamp this out and be allowed the freedom to enjoy our riding with peace of mind. We will most certainly keep on riding and not let this affect us, but this vicious circle must be stopped……………stolen……….sold………..claim from insurance……………no arrests…………so it goes on………….stolen…………………
I hope that we can put an end to this and start to live a rightfully free existence.