Durban - Police have confirmed that they are investigating a case of malicious damage to property after six drivers were forced out of their trucks by a group of armed men who then proceeded to set the vehicles alight.
The incident took place at Van Reenen’s Pass on the N3 highway on Saturday night.
The N3 toll concession confirmed yesterday that the route was closed for part of yesterday, due to recovery of the torched vehicles and removal of debris.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said at about 10pm on Saturday night, a gang of armed men forced six truck drivers to stop their trucks on Van Reenen’s Pass.
“They then set all six trucks alight, causing the roadway to be closed to traffic. No injuries were reported. At this stage, the motive for the attack is unknown.
“Van Reenen detectives are investigating a case of malicious damage to property.”
Naicker added that a large police deployment, including the public order policing unit, was monitoring the situation.
Thania Dhoogra, operations manager of N3 Toll Concession (N3TC), said: “Both the north and southbound carriageways have been reopened on the N3 Toll Route in the vicinity of Van Reenen’s Pass and traffic is slowly starting to flow following the mammoth clean-up and repair operation that was required after six trucks were set alight on Saturday night.”
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, said the association believed that the incident was a co-ordinated attack on the road freight sector.
“Both the specific spot on the N3, as well as the timing, were chosen to cause the ‘best’ outcome in terms of mayhem and disruption.
“A simple calculation of capital losses (assets and cargoes) of the six trucks destroyed to date amounts to anything between R18 to R60 million.”
“Those who attack the road leg of logistics supply chains need to understand that the long-term effects will bring greater destruction to employment levels, and will result in further job losses, as businesses and supporting sectors shrink and trade moves away from South Africa.”
“The immediate short-term losses will run into millions of rand (including cost of vehicles, cargo, personal effects, road damage, EMS response, delays in movement and shipping penalties), the long-term impact would be felt in terms of increased security costs into the cost of logistics, higher insurance premiums, higher toll fees, less freight movement through South Africa, closure of freight companies and loss of jobs.”
Sifiso Nyathi, of the All Truck Drivers’ Forum and Allied SA (ATDF ASA), said the incident had been brought to their attention, but the forum had nothing to do with it.
“We heard about the unfortunate incident, but this had nothing to do with us. This looks like an orchestrated act which we are not part of.
“We will continue our own fight for the employment of South African truck drivers.”