Cargo escorts across South Africa
Move it once. Move it protected.
Apex Ops provides discreet escorts for high-value and high-risk cargo on South Africa’s national corridors. Our vehicles do not draw attention on the road. A trained, vetted crew stays with your load from dispatch to offload, a control room tracks every kilometre, and one number reaches the people responsible for the run.
Why cargo needs an escort
SAPS recorded 327 truck hijackings between April and June 2026, 219 of them in Gauteng, and the Road Freight Association warns that the official count understates the problem because attempted hijackings are seldom reported. Security now costs the average operator about 2.3 percent of vehicle operating costs, and about 4.1 percent for high-risk cargo. An escort turns that cost into a controlled, planned expense on the loads that carry the most exposure, and it changes the calculation for the people who target them.
Source: SAPS quarterly crime statistics, via Freight News, September 2026.
What we escort
- Door-to-door courier vehicles
- High-value consumer goods, electronics and appliances
- FMCG loads, including food, beverages and alcohol
- Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies
- Metals, copper, cable and vehicle components
- Mining consumables and equipment
- Fuel and hazardous loads
- Any consignment where the value, the route or the timing makes it a target
It looks like traffic.
Our escort vehicles are unmarked and do not draw attention on the road. For many clients, that is a requirement.
Every kilometre, watched.
From dispatch to offload, the control room follows the convoy in real time and stays in contact with the crew and with you.
- Live position and speed of the load and the escort
- Stop times and route deviation alerts
- Scheduled check-ins with the crew
- One number for the crew, the planner and the client
- A written run report after every escort
Five stages, every load.
The same sequence on every run. You see each stage.
You tell us what moves, where and when. We assess the risk.
Route, stops and contingencies are set before the truck moves.
A briefed escort crew joins the load at dispatch.
The control room follows the run from start to finish.
We stay until sign-off, then send you a run report.
Where we operate.
Escorts run on the national corridors. Regional and metro escorts are available across Gauteng.
- Johannesburg → Durban and the portN3
- Pretoria → Maputo and LebomboN4
- Johannesburg → Polokwane and BeitbridgeN1 north
- Johannesburg → Bloemfontein and Cape TownN1 south
- Gauteng → MpumalangaN12 · N17
- Cape Town → Durban, along the coastN2
Escorts and investigations, together
Apex Ops is one of the few escort providers with an in-house commercial investigations team. When a load is lost, we investigate: driver and depot collusion, syndicate involvement, insurance and recovery. Clients who use both services see where their risk sits, from the depot gate to the delivery bay.
Frequently asked questions
What cargo do you escort?
High-value and high-risk loads, including courier vehicles, electronics and appliances, FMCG and alcohol, pharmaceuticals, metals and cable, mining consumables, and fuel and hazardous loads. If the value, the route or the timing makes a consignment a target, we can escort it.
Are your escort vehicles marked?
No. Our escort vehicles are unmarked and do not draw attention on the road. For many clients, that is a requirement.
Which routes do you cover?
We escort on the national corridors, including the N1, N2, N3 and N4, and the N12 and N17 into Mpumalanga. Regional and metro escorts are available across Gauteng.
Can I follow my load during the escort?
Yes. The control room follows the load and the escort in real time, with live position, stop times, route deviation alerts and scheduled check-ins. You receive a written run report after every escort.
What happens if a load is lost?
Apex Ops has an in-house commercial investigations team. We investigate driver and depot collusion, syndicate involvement, insurance and recovery.
Tell us what needs protecting.
Start with a confidential conversation. Tell us what moves, from where, to where and when. We will assess the requirement and come back with a recommended escort and a quote.