NOTHANDO MAKHUBELA
EMALAHLENI– Delphas Joeman Shabangu (44) and Nkosinathi Ngobeni (23) appeared at Witbank Magistrate Court on Wednesday, after they were both arrested and charged for theft of fuel and tampering with essential infrastructure in Vosman on last Thursday.
Both suspects were arrested by members of the Mpumalanga Tactical Response Team, the Middelburg based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Local Criminal Record Centre Witbank and Fidelity Security during last Thursday night.
According to police, the arrest followed the information received from the drone team who were on duty, working on the pipe lines when they saw suspicious persons along the Transnet fuel pipe line.
Mpumalanga Police spokesperson, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said “ The security made an observation and saw the suspects allegedly digging the ground on top of the fuel pipe line. The matter was reported to the Fidelity security who summoned the law enforcement. The team arrived and arrested two suspects whilst others fled the scene in the ensuing chaos,” said Brig Hlathi
“During the inspection, it was discovered that the pipe line was damaged but no spillage was detected. The equipment used during the commission of crime was seized and will now form part of an ongoing investigation,” he added.
The case was postponed to Tuesday, 16 March for formal bail application.
