Cops in court for R5m diesel theft case

Cape Town - 090127 - At Khayelitsha's Nonceba Hall on National Police Day there was a meeting to help organize how local organizations could assist the police in dealing with community issues. Photo by Skyler Reid.

Cape Town - 090127 - At Khayelitsha's Nonceba Hall on National Police Day there was a meeting to help organize how local organizations could assist the police in dealing with community issues. Photo by Skyler Reid.

Published May 6, 2016

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Durban - The gallery at the Durban Magistrate’s Court was packed with police on Thursday - there to support three fellow officers charged with the hijacking of tankers and the theft of R5 million in diesel.

Constable Bhazani Mseleku, 30, and warrant officers Gordon Shangase, 46, and Scelo Ndlovu, 34, were arrested by their Brighton Beach colleagues this week.

Prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay told the court the three had been arrested on Wednesday afternoon, while a fourth accused, Gijima Nyanga, 36, was arrested last month.

All were facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstance.

Nyanga had abandoned his bail application and was expected to appear in court again on May 24.

The three policemen are charged with two counts.

It is alleged they assaulted the driver of a diesel tanker on the M7 in Bellair on February 8 and stole about R1m worth of diesel.

The men also allegedly assaulted another tanker driver on April 4, also on the M7 in Bellair, stealing his wallet, cellphone and about R2.5m worth of diesel.

All four are facing a charge of theft for stealing more than 40 000 litres of diesel and a truck, worth about R1.5m, in Jacobs Road on April 4.

The policemen were expected to appear in court again on Thursday. They are to be held at the Brighton Beach police cells in the interim.

In a separate case immediately after their appearance, Chatsworth man Sadek Haniff, 52, appeared for a bail application. He, too, is accused of stealing diesel.

Instead of bail, however, a further charge was added to his charge sheet.

Haniff is accused of stealing about R6m worth of diesel that apparently led to a fuel tanker exploding at the uMvoti Toll Plaza in March.

Pillay asked for the bail application to be adjourned and said the State wanted to add a further count of theft to the charge sheet relating to this incident.

Haniff was arrested on April 26 and joined Deenadaylan Chinnasamy, 41, and Lucky Duma, 43, who were arrested on April 23, also by the Brighton Beach police.

Chinnasamy and Duma were released on R1 000 bail.

In addition to the theft at the toll plaza, they were all charged with stealing R100 000 worth of fuel from Archary Road in Clairwood on March 14 and 27.

Haniff’s bail application could not proceed because his “numerous” previous convictions and pending cases still needed to be verified.

“The accused also has a pending case in eManzimtoti, also for the theft of diesel, which the State might want to consolidate with this case. I would need to see the docket first,” Pillay said.

His bail application was adjourned until May 20.

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