Pretoria - A 37-year-old man has been arrested in Mpumalanga for stealing diesel from rail, port and pipeline company Transnet, which he and other suspects were siphoning from a pipeline in Ogies, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Friday.
The man was arrested on Thursday after Transnet experienced a drop in pressure on the pipeline and deployed a team which noticed a vehicle next to the line and relayed the information to security, said the Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.
“On arrival, the security noticed a double-cab bakkie which immediately drove away at high speed. The driver of the bakkie lost control and landed in a ditch. One suspect was arrested and others fled on foot,” she said, adding the man would appear before the Ogies Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
In October, five people, including a lawyer, appeared in a Vosloorus court in Gauteng on charges of possessing suspected stolen diesel as well as damaging essential infrastructure while siphoning fuel from Transnet.
At the time, the Hawks said Transnet officials had reported a pipeline pressure drop in the Free State town of Cornelia and contacted local police who established crude oil worth an estimated R150 000 had been stolen.
On the same day, Hawks officers, assisted by other police units and Fidelity Security Services, followed up on information about suspects who were in possession of suspected stolen crude oil at a plot in Boksburg.
Almost 40 000 litres of crude oil, two trucks with trailers, two other vehicles and a generator pump were seized, leading to the arrest of the five suspects.
African News Agency (ANA)