Tafadzwa Nhire, 41, who was caught red-handed after tampering with a Transnet pipeline and stealing fuel, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the Harrismith Regional Court this week.
Transnet has lauded the police, investigators, prosecuting authorities, and the courts for bringing the thief to justice and delivering a stiff sentence to match the serious crime.
Nhire was found guilty of tampering with essential infrastructure and stealing diesel following his arrest on May 11, 2020.
Free State Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba, said the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in Bethlehem had been alerted to the incident when it had received a complaint about a pressure drop in the pipeline from Transnet Pipeline’s master control centre in Pinetown.
“The police attended to the complaint, and on their arrival they found that the structure had been tampered with and diesel was stolen from the pipeline. On the same day, information was received about a truck that was stuck on Highway Junction, Harrismith. The team followed up on the information, and upon arrival they found the suspect pulling two tankers with a truck,” Bokaba said.
“The samples were taken from the tankers for analysis and it was discovered that the diesel was from Transnet pipeline. The suspect was arrested. During the arrest police seized a truck, two tankers, and 58 681 litres of diesel with an estimated value of more than R800 000,” he added.
Transnet chief executive Michelle Phillips said in a statement that the parastatal welcomed the sentence.
“The sentence sends a strong message to other perpetrators that the dedicated team from the Security Task Teams, The Hawks, SAPS Crime Intelligence, State Security Agency, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and local SAPS services will ensure that all offenders who tamper or collude to tamper with the pipeline will be charged and prosecuted as per the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, Act 18 of 2015, and face the full might of the law,” Phillips said.
“The successful conviction is an indication that intelligence and surveillance task teams, as well as the joint ventures with other key role players dedicated to fighting this scourge of fuel theft, are paying off. To date 173 suspects have been arrested and seven successful convictions have now been secured,” she said.
“Transnet continues to urge all petroleum retailers and members of the public to refrain from buying fuel from unregistered traders to curb the demand for illegal petroleum products.”
Transnet reiterated its call to all stakeholders to join in the fight against petroleum theft by reporting any suspicious trucks, bakkies, tankers, or activity near the company’s infrastructure by calling the TPL toll-free number 0800 203 843, or reporting the matter to the nearest SAPS station.
