Con man attempt to steal fuel
The suspects were driving a white Nissan bakkie loaded with empty containers, including two 200-litre containers and another three 20-litre containers, and wanted to purchase petrol and diesel
KARINO – This past weekend con artists tried in vain to rob a local garage of fuel worth over R3 000 by using a cloned debit card.
According to eyewitnesses, the five suspects approached the Viva garage near Karino Estate.
They were in a white Nissan bakkie loaded with empty containers, including two 200-litre containers and another three 20-litre containers, and wanted to purchase petrol and diesel.
When asked if they would pay the amount in cash or by using a card, they said they would pay by debit card. The attendees filled the containers but became suspicious when they were about to swipe the card, as it had the registration number of a truck.
The suspects claimed it was theirs and was parked somewhere in Plaston.
One of the attendees imme-diately pressed a panic button and three of the suspects fled in their vehicle, leaving two of them and the fuel behind.The manager of the station, security and the police were called to the scene. “Officials of GNM security checked the card and found that it was cloned. We apprehended the two while waiting for the arrival of police who only pitched hours afterwards,”said garage workers who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised.
“Police officers took the suspects with the stolen fuel to the KaNyamazane station. They were expected to appear in court on Monday,” he added.
The suspects’ court outcome was not known at the time of going to print.
