//REPEATING//TRADE-AFRICA: ‘Hijack Car Caravan’ Route Comes Under Scrutiny

By James Hall Reprint | | Print |

James Hall

MAPUTO, Mar 7 2002 (IPS) - A sophisticated trade route recalling the days of the Oriental Spice route connecting China and Europe or, more notoriously, the slave route used by Arab traders to bring captives from inland villages to the African coast, connects South Africa with Congo, and all nations in between.

The contraband being transported is stolen cars, some hijacked at gunpoint where the route originates, the Gauteng Province of South Africa where the metropolises of Johannesburg and Pretoria, and their wealth of expensive luxury cars, exist in close proximity.

“The trade in stolen cars connects the entire Southern Africa region, and will require the combined efforts of national law enforcement agencies to shut it down, like no other anti-crime effort ever attempted,” says Vusie Masuku, spokesperson for the Royal Swaziland Police Force.

Cars stolen at gun point or when parked in their owners’ absence begins a trek that takes them from Johannesburg through Swaziland, where they are driven into Mozambique. Although South Africa and Mozambique share a common border, it is guarded by a formidable electrified concrete, and steel fence initially installed to block an influx of illegal immigrants.

The stolen cars head further north, to buyers in Zimbabwe or Congo. Some may find their way to Malawi and Tanzania, but law enforcement sources say those two impoverished countries do not have a sufficient number of buyers to offer thieves incentives to go the additional distance, which at any length is perilous.

At any stage along the route, from the city of the original theft to the car’s final destination thousands of kilometres away, a vehicle may be stripped of its parts.

“Just as car types are specifically stolen for a customer who puts in an ‘order’ for a BMW sedan or a Toyota Camry, the spare parts market may require a particular carburettor or transmission that is in demand. Cars are stolen to meet this demand,” says Eduardo DeSousa, a vehicle theft detective in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

Because of South Africa’s recent moratorium on the release of crime statistics, it is impossible to say how many cars were hijacked in that country last year. But at any point on the “car hijack caravan” route, cars may be taken by gangs of car thieves, who run the northbound procession of stolen vehicles.

Alan Forset, owner of Swaziland Security Company, personally knew three business people last year whose new Mercedes cars were taken from them at gunpoint, all in urban areas. “Luxury cars stolen in Swaziland are taken directly to Mozambique, and are usually delivered to people who place special orders. The thieves go after particular cars, and don’t steal from anyone randomly,” Forset says.

On this leg of the hijack caravan, “The cars are driven through border fences, to either Mozambique or South Africa,” says Mike Magongo, Regional Commander (Manzini region) for the Royal Swaziland Police Force. “The owners are usually forced out at gunpoint, and told to lie down. There haven’t been any cases of people being shot in these car-jackings here in Swaziland, but it is not uncommon in South Africa.”

Anti-theft technology has not stopped car thefts, but has changed the thieves’ methods. “Because of the widespread use of immobilisers, which will not allow a car to start without a signal and special key, thieves now prefer to take cars that are in motion, and not parked somewhere with the alarm on,” says Kamuya Sithole of the Royal Swaziland Police Force.

Luxury cars may go to Mozambican customers, but Swaziland’s Director of Public Prosecutions Lincoln Ng’aura says, “The less expensive cars go the other way, to South Africa. These end up in the townships of Johannesburg. People there do not want luxury cars, no BMWs or Mercedes, no Audis or Maximas, because these are conspicuous. They want Sentras, Toyotas. 4×4 trucks are extremely attractive to thieves.”

As a side note, Vusie Mavimbela of the Swaziland security company Guard Alert, reports, “For some reason, South African car thieves think it is easier to steal in Swaziland, and Swazi car thieves think it is easier to steal in South Africa.”

Mavimbela feels the official police numbers, which show that only 200 cars were hijacked last year, the same number as in 2000 and 1999 despite a greater number of vehicles on the kingdom’s expanding road network, do not accurately reflect the reality of car-jacking in Swaziland. “There is a car-jacking almost every day,” he says.

Satellite tracking systems, which pinpoint the location of a vehicle fitted with a transmission device, are an expensive option for car security, but they reportedly are responsible for the retrieval of hundreds of cars, according to one tracking company, Netstar of South Africa.

“The further north the cars go, the harder it is to get them back, satellite tracking or not, because the local law enforcement agencies are incapable or haven’t the resources,” says Mavimbela.

This is where regional police cooperation becomes imperative. The 14 member states of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have signed security agreements that call for multilateral efforts to target crime problems shared by all.

The “hijack caravan” route that threads its way through neighbouring nations is one common problem. The SADC accord will allow for police forces to share intelligence, work together on manoeuvres, and allow resources to be directed to poorer nations like Mozambique that could do more if they had equipment and personnel.