Police at Komatipoort have taken in four men for questioning following an incident in which more than 32,000 litres of diesel was stolen from a truck that was reportedly hijacked in Hectorspruit, Mpumalanga.
Colonel Donald Mdhluli, spokesperson for the police in Mpumalanga, said the truck was hijacked when the driver stopped at a filling station and went into a kiosk.
"According to information, the driver of a truck loaded with diesel was travelling along the N4 road and decided to stop at a certain fuel station at Mjejana (Hectorspruit). He then reportedly went to a kiosk," said Mdhluli.
“On his return (to his truck), it is alleged that he was accosted by three armed men who held him at gunpoint. It is further reported that the suspects allegedly hijacked the driver of his truck, only to abandon it later along the N4 Road near Komatipoort after draining the diesel," he said.
The matter was reported to the police, and a case was opened for investigation.
Later, police officers spotted a premises with "JoJo tanks," and they went to investigate further.
"Members of the police from Komatipoort community service centre were on the lookout, and their vigilance paid off when they spotted some JoJo tanks along the N4 Road in Hectorspruit. Upon questioning a man who was found on the premises where the tanks were, they discovered that there was something that was not adding up," said Mdhluli.
"The astute members are said to have gone and opened a tap from the tanks. It was during this time when they discovered that the tanks were in fact containing diesel," he said.
On further investigation, police officers were led to premises where they discovered a car jammer, a pellet gun, and a firearm.
Three more individuals were found and quizzed by the police. During that investigation, police were also led to other premises at Mjejejane Trust, where a certain truck was found with about 1,500 litres of diesel.
"The investigation about this truck is under way, and it will include details of where and when was it stolen or hijacked," said Mdhluli.
In April, a police officer attached to the SAPS crime intelligence unit was murdered while he and a colleague were responding to a reported crime scene where diesel was being stolen at a mine in Mpumalanga.
At the time, Mpumalanga spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said the officers were going to probe a reported theft of diesel at a mine near the N4.
"It is alleged that in the early hours of Monday, April 3, 2023, a member from crime intelligence Middelburg received a tip-off from an informer regarding the theft of diesel at a mine near the N4. The member contacted his colleague from Middelburg detective services, and they drove together in a State vehicle, a white Toyota Hilux double cab, using the Stoffberg Road as directed by the source," Sekgotodi said.
She said while driving on the road, the officers came across a yellow diesel bowser truck matching the description, made a U-turn, and stopped the heavy vehicle.
"It is further alleged that three male persons alighted from the truck and started shooting at the officers. In the process, one member was shot and later succumbed to his injuries, while the other sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital in Middelburg for treatment," Sekgotodi said.
IOL