Authorities arrest two suspects linked to Transnet fuel theft in South Africa

Mpumalanga, South Africa – The Hawks arrested two suspects linked to Transnet fuel theft in the Phumula area along the N3 on Wednesday night.

Two people who were arrested with thousands of litres of diesel led the Hawks to a national Transnet fuel pipeline that had been tampered with along the N3 freeway in Phumula near Vosloorus on Wednesday night.

Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha said the Transnet depot in Germiston realised on Friday that there was a drop of pressure, which was usually a sign of the pipeline being tampered with.

“Observations and surveillance using the latest technological gadgets were intensified along the N3 highway,” Ramovha said.

At 10.30pm on Wednesday, a team comprising the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation unit, Transnet security and others intercepted an Isuzu delivery truck with two occupants leaving the Phumula area.

“The truck was stopped and six large plastic containers were found loaded in the back. Further examination confirmed the contents to be just over 4,750 litres of diesel.

Ramovha said the two suspects, aged 26 and 30, were arrested and the suspects led the team to a nearby stand adjacent to the N3 freeway.

“Nothing could have prepared the team for what they were to discover next. At a glance, it looked like a normal residence but when the team probed further around the yard, they discovered that there was a hosepipe leading from a makeshift house connected to a generator and extending to an underground tunnel that lead all the way to the national pipeline,” Ramovha said.

He said various equipment and the truck were seized to allow further investigation.

The arrested pair is expected to appear in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court on Friday. Ramovha said more arrests were expected.

Head of the Hawks in Gauteng Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa commended the team.

“The operation proves that the Hawks are closing in on criminal activities relating to the tampering with key national infrastructure. The deployment of intelligence-based initiatives, which encompasses the latest technology, will be intensified,” Kadwa said.