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- The Hawks seized five luxury vehicles among other items during a search operation at the premises of the alleged fuel theft kingpin in Witbank, Mpumalanga.
- Spokesperson Philani Nkwalase said the value of the vehicles and cash seized had not been determined.
- The alleged kingpin will appear in the Vrede Magistrate’s Court on Friday after authorities have compiled evidence to include in the court docket.
The Hawks raided the premises of an alleged fuel theft syndicate kingpin in Kromdraai, Witbank, following his arrest, and seizing five luxury vehicles.
Officers also seized cash, five cellphones, illegal firearms, ammunition, and documents, among other items.
Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase said the vehicles were a black Jeep SRT 8 SUV, a black Mercedes-Benz Viano minibus, a white Toyota Land Cruiser, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, and a Silver Jeep V8 SUV.
He said authorities hadn’t determined the value of the vehicles and the cash seized.
The alleged kingpin was arrested on Wednesday during a joint operation in Pretoria.
Nkwalase said the search for assets suspected to be the proceeds of crime continued until Thursday morning.
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“Furthermore, a second tanker which was allegedly seen in his premises over the weekend when his alleged accomplices were arrested has now been linked to a new incident of damage to the Transnet pipeline in Silverton, Pretoria this [Thursday] morning,” he said.
“The suspects fled the scene before arrest and the tanker was seized for further investigation. The case against five illegal immigrants arrested at his homestead was referred to the local detectives for a further probe.”
Nkwalase said the “kingpin” would appear in the Vrede Magistrate’s Court on Friday after authorities had compiled evidence for the court docket, adding: “The alleged kingpin will be facing the main charge of damage to essential infrastructure and theft.
“The Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) of the Hawks in Free State has been activated to begin their probe into the assets belonging to the alleged kingpin, [which are] suspected to be the proceeds of crime.”
On Saturday, the Hawks arrested two suspects for fuel theft and tampering with the Transnet national pipeline in the Free State.
They were arrested in Vrede after allegedly delivering the stolen fuel to Witbank.
“The arrest of the trio brings to a total of 49 suspects arrested in the space of three months since the involvement of Bidvest Protea Coin Security.
“However, 210 suspects have been arrested since December 2019 through collaborative work between the police and Transnet officials. We have also secured the conviction of 10 suspects through the collaboration of the police with Transnet,” said Nkwalase.
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