Booze truck hijacking ‘was staged’

A MAN has ended up in the drink in quite a different sense after allegedly helping to hijack his own booze truck.

The Port Elizabeth delivery driver was arrested for allegedly staging the bogus hijacking, which saw R800 000 worth of liquor stolen.

Elton Schoeman, 30, appeared in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where he was charged with theft and submitting a false statement. He was released on R500 bail.

According to police, Schoeman was the delivery driver of a subcontractor to SA Breweries in Port Elizabeth.

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said Schoeman claimed to have been hijacked at about 3.30am on Saturday on his way to Queenstown.

“He initially claimed the delivery truck was hijacked by a group of unknown men who forced the vehicle off the road on the N2 near Bluewater Bay,” she said.

“He claimed the men forced him into another car at gunpoint and drove towards Thornhill, where he was dropped off on the side of the road.

“[Schoeman] claimed to have then run to the police station, where the alarm was raised.”

The case was taken over by the Port Elizabeth-based Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit, which specialises in hijacking cases.

Naidu said it was determined that the incident had been staged and that Schoeman was allegedly in cahoots with the hijackers.

None of the stolen alcohol had been recovered yet.

Motherwell cluster commander Major-General Dawie Rabie warned that anyone opening a false case would be arrested and charged.

“The cases opened involve very serious allegations and require intensive investigation, which entails long hours, manpower and resources,” he said.

“These resources could have been used in more urgent matters of policing.

“By wasting this time, you are effectively depriving someone else who might need urgent assistance, from getting it.”

Schoeman is due to appear in the same court on July 2.