South Africa’s logistics utility has applauded the police service (SAPS) and its own security personnel for the arrests of 17 suspects across several areas of its operations over just two days.
According to the ports and rail operator, the suspects were arrested in six separate incidents from September 9-10.
“On September 9, a train at Ladysmith station in KwaZulu-Natal was targeted while awaiting changeover into Danskraal Yard. The suspects cut a seal on a wagon carrying vehicles. One suspect was arrested after attempting to steal a spare wheel and accessories,” Transnet said.
In another incident, five suspects were arrested at Bloemhof-Hoopstad, North West, on the N12 by police after they received a tip-off to intercept a suspicious vehicle. Copper cable with a street value of about R60 000 was found inside the vehicle.
“At about the same time, acting on another tip-off in North West Province, police arrested four men who were found with pieces of catenary wire. The suspects have been charged with the illegal possession of essential infrastructure and violating the Immigration Act,” Transnet said.
The suspects were detained at the Bloemhof SAPS station.
In the Western Cape, two incidents were reported on September 9. In the first incident, security officers stopped a vehicle near the Huguenot Tunnel after closely monitoring it.
“The driver was arrested while his passengers fled the scene. Officers recovered a significant amount of burnt coax copper cable in the vehicle, which weighed about 300kg,” Transnet said.
The suspect was charged in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act at the Rawsonville SAPS station.
In nearby Bellville, Transnet security personnel caught a suspect tampering with essential infrastructure shortly after midnight and called the Rapid Rail Police Unit (RRPU) to arrest the suspect.
On September 10, at Swartkops in Gqeberha, security officers reported five suspects in the vicinity of several locomotives. They alerted the SAPS and RRPU to apprehend the suspects, on four different locomotives, who were taken to the Swartkops SAPS station.
Transnet Group Chief Executive Michelle Phillips said the arrests show the company’s collaborative crime fighting strategy is working.
“These arrests demonstrate our strong resolve to curb the prevalence of vandalism and essential infrastructure theft within our network. This also indicates that our focused approach towards enhancing our stakeholder collaboration and holding our security service providers to a higher performance standard is beginning to yield positive results.”
Transnet applauded all stakeholders involved in the arrests and others reported in recent weeks including the National Logistics Crisis Committee Workstream 7, SAPS, National Prosecuting Authority, State Security Agency, Eskom, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
“We are also grateful for our Transnet security teams who, on a daily basis, navigate this portfolio working with all stakeholders to protect the rail network and essential infrastructure,” Transnet added.
