![]() It also involved mechanics and panelbeaters, who were not willing to incur the costs involved inf buying parts.Īccording to Jack the scenario is: A "boss" (person whom the panelbeater contacts for spare parts) places an "order" for a particular vehicle through the country's nationwide car hijacker network. Jack said many more cars were hijacked for spare parts than for resale and that it all started with a driver who is unlicensed, uninsured or simply not willing to report an accident to their insurer for fear of paying a high excess. Jack had been involved in and exposed to this lifestyle for more than 20 years at the time and had been too immersed in it to have willingly dispensed with it. In the area he grew up in the only role models were people who committed crime.įinding work in a white neighbourhood was an option but Jack felt that working for a "pittance" wasn't for him. He had started a life of crime when he was only 17 years old as a means to support his family. He said that the allure of quick and easy cash had been too much to resist. I was in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, sitting less than an arm's length from a car hijacker - reformed or not. Too late for that, I mused, but what if I ended up as a car hijacking statistic while trying to pick the mind of a car hijacker? As we ventured out I wondered if Jack was armed. We opted to conduct our interview while driving so as not to attract attention by being together in one place. It dawned on me that both of us were nervous, though for completely different reasons. He had two cellphones, and fidgeted with them constantly. I had earlier formed a profile of the former car hijacker in my mind but on meeting Jack I discovered he was not of diminutive frame and soft-spoken as I thought he'd turn out to be. Then Jack's mediator, Adam, appeared and hurriedly motioned me to park closer to him. ![]() Three menacing- looking men stared at me in disbelief, while simultaneously reaching for their pockets. The meeting point was in a part of town with a reputation of being a crime-infested spot.Īs luck would have it, I parked in the wrong place. All too soon the day rolled by and, to my astonishment the only thing I could think of was what to wear.įor once I opted not to wear heels, just in case I had to run! His contact arranged the interview in a surprisingly short time. It wasn't difficult to get an interview with Jack. In a quest to satisfy my (sometimes unhealthy) sense of curiosity, I secured an interview with a reformed car hijacker, whose reformation came by way of a car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down.īeing wheelchair-bound had given Jack (not his real name) time to reflect on the impact his past life has had on other people. So much so that the fear of being hijacked has forced me to carefully choose the car I want to own. I'VE always wondered how I could best protect myself against being hijacked. "My family knew but never discouraged me"
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