Cape Town - Ten suspects, including a police officer intern stationed at Mitchells Plain police station, are set to appear in the Paarl Magistrate’s Court for their involvement in an intricate fuel fraud syndicate.
Aged between 23 and 41, the suspects were arrested by police following an intensive investigation into the syndicate’s criminal activities at a petrol station in Paarl last week.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said: “Detectives attached to the Provincial Commercial Crimes Unit in conjunction with investigators from financial institutions were able to bust the fraud syndicate operating with cloned fuel cards.
“The suspects were arrested in possession of 52 cloned fuel cards, mostly linked to government cars, three point-of-sale devices, 14 cellphones, 74 x 25-litre containers, four cars, fuel slips and R32 000 cash. They are expected to make their court appearances in Paarl Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, November 2 to face the charges against them.
“The female suspect is an intern employed by the SAPS in Mitchells Plain, and her involvement will also be the subject of a departmental investigation. The investigation is still under way and the possibility of more arrests is not excluded.”
Elsewhere, in Ravensmead, police were searching for a suspect who was involved in a shooting incident in the area.
According to a police report, Ravensmead police were escorting IEC officials when they heard gunshots being fired.
Spokesperson Wesley Twigg said: “On witnessing the shooting incident, police then proceeded to drive in the direction of the incident where they intercepted a known suspect running with a firearm in his hand.
“The firearm fell and the suspect kept running. Police recovered a 9mm pistol and registered a discharging of firearm case for investigation. The suspect is yet to be arrested and the investigation continues.”
In Factreton police arrested a 32-year-old suspect for possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. The suspect was apprehended by police while in possession of a 9mm pistol with no serial number in Lugmag Street Factreton on Saturday morning.
The suspect will appear in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges of possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.