KROONSTAD, August 15 (ANA) - A 42-year-old truck driver was expected to appear in the Kroonstad Magistrates' Court in the Free State today on charges of being in possession of suspected stolen diesel after he was arrested when his truck suffered a mechanical breakdown near Welkom, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in the province said.
The Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team was alerted on Friday to a seemingly broken-down fuel tanker along the R34 between Kroonstad and Welkom. Upon arrival at the scene they found a Nissan truck that had broken down due to an apparent tyre burst, Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn said in a statement.
"Both the tanker and its trailer were filled with approximately 40 000 litres of diesel and the driver failed to provide proof of where the fuel came from, which resulted in his immediate arrest. The tanker, trailer, and the suspect’s cell phone were seized for further investigation," she said.
In an unrelated fuel theft incident, five alleged fuel thieves this week had abandoned their bail application, Steyn said.
Four Malawian nationals and one Zimbabwean national - Norman Tsvito, 44, Cliff Sheriff Mtantho, 33, Beckham Mtantho, 24, Lloyd Joseph Mjogo, 51, and George Kathumba, 52 - appeared in the Sasolburg Magistrates' Court on Wednesday on charges of theft of fuel from a Transnet fuel pipeline.
The group was arrested on Saturday, August 1, after Transnet personnel were made aware of a pressure drop alert from the fuel pipeline near Taaibos Farm in the Zamdela area, Sasolburg.
The Transnet security guards, together with members of the Sasolburg Hawks serious organised crime investigation unit, had responded to the complaint and found two trucks and trailers on the scene, she said.
"The five [men] were allegedly caught red-handed extracting oil from the underground valve into one of the truck and trailers. The trucks, two generators, and eight cell phones were seized on the crime scene for further investigation.
"The watertight case presented by the investigators has led the group to abandon their bail application bid. The case has been postponed to 13 October for further investigation while they remain in custody," Steyn said.
- African News Agency (ANA), editing by Jacques Keet
