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Johannesburg – Several South African passports were stolen when a courier van transporting applications for UK visas was hijacked in Johannesburg, the British High Commission has said.
"The incident occurred on the morning of Monday July 27 and the sealed bag containing the passports has not been recovered," reads an e-mail from UK Visas and Immigration, dated Wednesday, and sent to those people whose passports were stolen.
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The courier van was on its way to the visa application centre in Johannesburg.
"All those affected are being contacted directly and UK Visas & Immigration is working closely with Teleperformance to ensure that customers are supported," the commission said in a statement on Thursday. It did not give further details.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the van was hijacked on Fleming Road in Meadowdale, Ekurhuleni. Three men in two cars confronted the driver when he halted at a stop sign. One of them was wearing a metro police uniform.
He was taken to Midrand and left there. The van was later found in Kempton Park. The cargo was gone. No arrests had been made.
