KROONSTAD - A 42-year-old truck driver is expected to appear in the Kroonstad Magistrates' Court in the Free State on Monday, August 17, on charges of being in possession of suspected stolen diesel after he was arrested when his truck suffered a mechanical breakdown near Welkom, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in the province said.
"Both the tanker and its trailer were filled with approximately 40,000 litres of diesel and the driver failed to provide proof of where the fuel came from, which resulted in his immediate arrest. The tanker, trailer, and the suspect’s cellphone were seized for further investigation," she said. Four Malawian nationals and one Zimbabwean national - Norman Tsvito, 44, Cliff Sheriff Mtantho, 33, Beckham Mtantho, 24, Lloyd Joseph Mjogo, 51, and George Kathumba, 52 - appeared in the Sasolburg Magistrates' Court on Wednesday on charges of theft of fuel from a Transnet fuel pipeline.
The Transnet security guards, together with members of the Sasolburg Hawks serious organised crime Investigation unit, responded to the complaint and found two trucks and trailers on the scene, she said.