Horses in hijack drama

03 March 2015 - 19:10 By Shaun Smillie
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Horse truck, illustrative image sourced from winstonforhorsetransport.co.za
Horse truck, illustrative image sourced from winstonforhorsetransport.co.za

A photograph posted on Facebook helped end the search for two thoroughbred horses that were in a truck that was hijacked on the N1 south, near the William Nicol Drive off-ramp.

The horses were found unharmed and still in the truck in Springs, on the East Rand, at about 8.15pm.

They were recovered after a woman spotted the abandoned Hino truck last night in Springs and alerted the police and the owner of the horses, Deon Griessel.

“She had seen the picture of my truck on Facebook, and was on her way to see a friend when she saw it,” said Griessel.

Pictures of the horses and the truck were posted on the crime fighting forum Eblockwatch, shortly after the hijacking.

The horses, named Schwaike Litana and Schwaike Grantina, were en route from a stud farm in Midrand to Bloemfontein in the Free State when the hijacking occurred.

Griessel said that the hijackers had motioned to the driver of the truck that there was something wrong with the vehicle.

“When he pulled the truck over, the armed hijackers assaulted him and put him in the boot of their car,” said Griessel. The driver was later released.

The horses' groom was in the back of the truck and was also released when the hijackers found out he was there.

Griessel said the horses had been with the family since birth and were on their way to Bloemfontein where his daughter planned to ride them in show jumping competitions.

“They are like our children, they are part of our household,” Griessel said.

Griessel said that the groom had overheard the hijackers saying that they wanted to use the truck to transport cigarettes.

Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Nonhlanhla Khumalo said that the hijackers were driving a red Polo without any registration plates, when they pulled over the truck.

She said no arrests had been made.

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