A Verulam man was due to appear in court today after having reported a false hijacking and kidnapping.
Police and several private security companies reacted to the call for assistance around midday on Tuesday when a call was received from a man who reported a hijacking that occurred on Todd Street, Verulam.
According to the caller, he was a passenger in the vehicle when four unknown men got into the car and sped off with the driver – but he (the passenger) managed to escape.
The caller said he then went home and reported the incident to his brother.
Prem Balram from Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) said they immediately sprang into action and deployed a number of resources.
“Fifteen reaction officers were dispatched to search for the vehicle and the victim while the RUSA R44 helicopter was being pre-flighted for take-off,” he said.
“Officers interviewed car guards along Todd Street who claimed that they did not witness any such incident in the area. RUSA members also viewed CCTV footage from businesses in the area that showed the owner of the vehicle proceeding out of the Verulam CBD and not under duress,” said Mr Balram.
He said officers then tracked the caller to Inca Drive in Everest Heights.
“On arrival at his residence, the man was discovered to be heavily under the influence of alcohol. He thereafter changed his version of events stating that the driver of the vehicle left him stranded at a butchery. He admitted that he was safe and had not been hijacked and kidnapped,” said Mr Balram.
He said such fake incidents were a waste of resources and time.
“Our operations centre was inundated with calls from members of the public who viewed the notice of the initial hijacking and kidnapping alert on our social media pages. We were kept busy for a long time following leads from these callers who reported seeing the missing man at a property on the corner of Kissoon Road and the R102 in Ottawa. This time could have been spent more productively. We urge people not to report fake incidents and spread false information,” said Mr Balram.
