Publications
Partners
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Transnet Pipelines has welcomed the conviction of two fuel thieves, each of whom were sentenced a cumulative 30 years by the Newcastle Regional Court on Monday.
The accused were each sentenced with 15 years for tampering with essential infrastructure and another 15 years for fuel theft.
The sentences stem from arrests made during a coordinated operation in July 2021 and the morning of 20 July 2021, during which 39 000 litres of stolen crude oil were recovered from the scene.
Four suspects were apprehended for their involvement in crude oil theft at a Transnet pipeline near the Karbochem factory in Newcastle.
An arrest warrant has been issued for a third suspect, who is currently evading authorities. Law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing him. One of the suspects cooperated with the state and turned witness.
Fuel theft is an area of major concern for Transnet Pipelines and could have detrimental impacts on the economy if it continued to proliferate.
"This conviction continues to send a strong message to all criminals and crime syndicates that tampering with our critical and essential infrastructure will not be tolerated, and that the full might of the law will be enforced against anyone caught doing so," said Sibongiseni Khathi, Transnet Pipelines acting CEO in a statement.
