Thugs in-and-around the Erasmia and Laudium area are becoming more and more crafty in their criminal tactics, preying on unsuspecting victims in the most devious of ways.
In the latest incident, an Erasmia resident told the Laudium Sun that he almost became yet another crime statistic when, on the way to his Ben Street home, his car tyre burst after he drove into a pile of rocks camouflaged by debris that was “strategically placed” on the Erasmia main road (M26) by thugs, this past Monday evening, April 9. Niraaj Gouden, a 33-year-old Telkom employee described his ordeal as "terrifying".
"It was one of the scariest moments in my entire life," Niraaj recalled, "I was on my way home on Monday night at around 7pm. I had just got onto the M26 Erasmia road, from the R55 when I saw what looked like debris on the road. By the time I realized what it was, it was too late for me to avoid the obstruction completely and that's when I slammed my brakes and heard this loud bang. Its like my car was lifted off the road and then violently pushed to the left. As much as I was in shock, I knew that criminals had strategically placed these obstructions on the road in order to hijack or rob motorists, so I took off even though I knew that one of my front tyres had burst. I continued to drive all the way to the Erasmia garage, driving on the rim, because I realised that I was not safe and needed to get out of there."
The Ben Street father continued: "When I got out of my car at the garage I saw that both my front tyres were damaged and the left had blown out, which explained the loud bang I heard. Despite the damage, I consider myself extremely fortunate that my car was still able to move to a place of safety or God only knows what these criminals would have done to me."
"The damage to my VW Golf 7 runs into thousands of rand. I can't believe that criminals would try something like this on such a busy road. I called the Erasmia police and accompanied them to show them exactly where the obstruction was placed and shockingly we found that rocks had been placed on the road. The police officers tried searching the nearby bushes for the criminals but they were not able to find anyone," Niraaj added, despondently.
The Erasmia police have warned motorists to be extremely vigilant when driving as there have been other cases of obstructions like rocks camouflaged by debris, placed on roads, reported to them and they believe that criminals are now using this modus operandi to trap and hijack unsuspecting motorists.
Distressed motorist: Niraaj Gouden (33).
The Erasmia M26 near the R55, where criminals recently placed obstructions on the road, to snare unsuspecting victims.