At least five people, including employees of the City of Ekurhuleni, have been arrested on charges of theft after diesel was routinely stolen from the Gauteng municipality.
The five men were arrested in a joint sting operation conducted by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), South African Police Service (SAPS) national crime intelligence, the multi-dimensional organised crime unit (MDOC), various private security companies, including Nazaf Security, Bravolor Protection, Armani Protection Services, Kaligon and Black Lion Protection.
The integrated law enforcement team raided an agricultural holding in the Tsakane area of Ekurhuleni.
Spokesperson for the EMPD, Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said the first suspect was arrested when he came to the premises to off-load diesel, while the other people were nabbed at the Springs depot.
“Also arrested were the owner of the bus fleet and two of his employees in the facility where the diesel was being off-loaded,” said Thepa.
“The arrests followed an ongoing intelligence-driven operation that has been surveilling the city’s vehicles, mainly trucks, which had been spotted on several instances off-loading diesel at the facility, which is a private bus depot. Following weeks of investigations, the private security operators, working under supervision with MDOC, finally pounced on the suspects on Tuesday afternoon.
“Although it remains unclear how much diesel had been stolen through this illegal operation, the City is busy reconciling its figures to determine the amount of the loss suffered by the municipality,” said Thepa.
The modus operandi was that the trucks would fill up at the municipal depots each morning, only to go and off-load the fuel at the private bus depot and get paid for this.
Ekurhuleni Metro Police commissioner, Isaac Jabulani Mapiyeye said the drivers would then return the vehicles empty, and re-fill the next morning and do the same thing over each day.
“This seems to have been a well-orchestrated operation that ran for months, and the police, working with the fleet management team of the EMPD, have been working tirelessly to nail those involved,” said Mapiyeye.
“Foul play has always been suspected because of the rate at which some of our vehicles were refilling fuel on a regular basis. Unfortunately for the criminal elements, their luck finally ran out.”
Mapiyeye vowed that more arrests are imminent as investigations continue to unravel.
Preliminary investigations by the EMPD have revealed that the owner of the bus depot is not only benefiting from the State through transporting school children under the Gauteng Provincial Government’s programme, but has also been implicated in the fuel theft.
“We will not rest until all those who are involved in such illicit acts are behind bars. This is public money and money that we desperately need to provide quality and sustainable services to the community of Ekurhuleni,” said Mapiyeye.
He saluted the police officers involved in the operation, including the whistle-blowers.
Earlier this year, a contractor of the City of Ekurhuleni was arrested in Brakpan for allegedly stealing diesel from a truck he was fixing.
“The city encourages the public to continue reporting such incidents to the law enforcement agencies so that the culprits can face the consequences of their actions. Anyone with information on criminal activities can report such at the SAPS Crime Stop hotline on 08600 10111 or the City of Ekurhuleni Fraud Hotline on 0800 102 201,” the EMPD appealed.
IOL