Court sentences thieves hefty 15-year sentences for theft of crude oil and damage to infrastructure
When the hired driver learned that they were stealing, he informed his employer (the truck owner), and Mathabatha and Ndlovu were detained.
Boitumelo Mathabatha and MacDonald Ndlovu have been handed a 15-year jail sentence each for the theft of crude oil as well as tampering with and/or damaging essential infrastructure by the Newcastle Regional Court.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, NPA Regional spokesperson (KZN Division), said the crude oil had an estimated value of R400 000 and the damage to infrastructure was about R11 million.
Kara said police were notified of an abandoned truck found in a field in Newcastle on July 20, 2021.
“The truck was empty, but the keys were in the ignition, and there were two trailers attached to the truck. There was a fuel pipe attached to the truck and a freshly dug hole in the ground next to the truck. It was discovered that the tankers were filled with crude oil that the accused had accessed by digging into an extensive underground pipeline belonging to Transnet,” she said.
The accused had allegedly hired the truck and the driver to carry out their elaborate theft.
Once the hired driver realised that they were stealing, he notified his employer (the truck owner), and Mathabatha and Ndlovu were arrested.
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