A 40-year-old Mpumalanga man will appear in court for allegedly being involved in the theft of almost R1.4m worth of railway tracks.
PHOTO: Supplied by Transnet
- An employee of a well-known waste management and
scrap metal company has been arrested for railway line theft. - He is the third and latest suspect to be arrested
in connection with the theft. - He faces charges of damaging of essential
infrastructure, theft and possession of stolen property.
A 40-year-old Mpumalanga man will appear in court
on Monday for allegedly being involved in the theft of almost R1.4m worth of
railway tracks.
The man was an employee of a well-known waste
management and scrap metal company in Mpumalanga, said police spokesperson
Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi on Sunday.
Sekgotodi said the man was expected to appear before
the Vosman Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The arrest came after members of the Middelburg
Serious Organised Crime team, Afri Guard at Transnet, and Durban harbour police
observed a group of suspects at Kromdraai who were loading stripped railway
tracks onto a truck, said Sekgotodi.
“When approached, the suspects fled and two
were apprehended on the spot. The third suspect fled using the company’s van.
He however crashed his getaway vehicle into a wall before fleeing,” said
Sekgotodi.
Third person arrested
“Despite his attempts, he was finally arrested
on Saturday at his residence in Vosman after the Hawks relentlessly followed up
on information about his whereabouts.”
The man is the third person to be arrested in
connection with the crime.
Thulani Rodrigo Khumalo, 33, and Dumisani David
Nkosi, 38, were arrested earlier.
Khumalo and Nkosi are in custody following their
second brief appearance in the Vosman Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
They are expected back in court on Wednesday for a
formal bail application.
The latest suspect will make his first appearance
in the same court on Monday, charged with damaging essential infrastructure,
theft and possession of stolen property.
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