A gang of men posing as police officers - which might include genuine cops - has been targeting the East Rand and Johannesburg's northern suburbs, Gauteng police said yesterday.
"This gang is carrying high-calibre weapons," said acting provincial police commissioner Major-General Pumza Gela.
The areas being targeted were Benoni, Germiston, the N17, Beyers Naude Drive, and the N14 near Diepsloot. In the past seven days, five cases were reported and the modus operandi was similar in each case.
He said three to five people would be in an unmarked car, most often a white Golf, hijacking and robbing people after hours when it is not safe to stop. Some of the criminals would have blue lights on their cars.
Gela urged drivers not to stop if they were told to do so by people in an unmarked vehicle using blue lights.
"Don't stop. Look for the safest place like a garage or a police station. If it's a law-abiding officer, then he will follow you."
Motorists who are pulled over by someone in an unmarked car who claims to be a police officer should demand to see his appointment card.
Gela said the challenge for the police was that many hijackings and robberies were reported late, in some cases a day later.
"At times there are gaps of about two hours in between ... the vehicle could be outside the province by then."
He did not rule out the possibility that some members of the gangs were policemen.
"It cannot be excluded that police members are conniving with [these] criminals."
In the past 18 months, 600 police officers have been arrested for crimes in Gauteng.
"There may be corrupt members in our ranks but it's not all of us."
He said 99% of police officers were honest. He urged people to report the registration numbers of suspicious vehicles.
