A case of armed robbery and attempted theft has been opened with police after five suspects attempted to steal diesel at Transet Freight Rail’s (TFR) Watervalboven depot in Mpumalanga.

According to TFR, the men were caught in the act following a tip off by community members.

“At approximately 02h05am [on Monday] armed criminals managed to gain access to the TFR site with the intention to steal diesel. The criminals entered with two vehicles, including a fuel tanker, and proceeded to siphon thousands of litres of diesel into their tanker.

“The South African Police Services (SAPS) was tipped off by members of the community after noticing suspicious activity at the depot. As the police arrived, the suspects fled the scene on foot leaving behind their vehicle as well as the fuel tanker. The suspects had already transferred approximately 18 000 litres of diesel to their fuel tanker before fleeing the scene,” the company said.

TFR said the arrests were a “major breakthrough” in the fight against diesel theft.

“The crime scene was thoroughly processed to collect evidence and to possibly link the suspects to similar crimes such as the armed robbery and theft of diesel at TFR’s Lydenburg and Witbank depots.

“The Asset Forfeiture Unit has also been activated to ensure the vehicles used in the commissioning of a crime are forfeited to the State. This is regarded as a major breakthrough and it is expected that arrests are imminent,” TFR said.

The company called on communities to immediately report any suspicious activities to police.

“TFR commends the members of the community and the SAPS for their swift action and calls on all stakeholders to join the fight against fuel theft by reporting any suspicious trucks or persons selling diesel at suspiciously low prices in the communities, and more importantly, to refrain from buying fuel from unregistered traders as this only serves to exacerbate the problem by providing a thriving market for illicit trade,” TFR said.

Source: South African Government News Agency