Fuel theft – the new crime

THE PRICE of fuel has made another crime worth while – stealing diesel. Unsuspecting drivers of heavy vehicles who park for the night in Vryheid, to eat and rest, are being targeted.
For safety’s sake, they park their trucks in Landdrost Street near the police station, or in the comparative safety of well-lit East Street, and they used to be safe. They used be safe in other streets of Vryheid too.
Apparently, late at night, the thieves puncture the trucks’ fuel tanks and fill 25-litre containers with the out-pouring diesel. Presumably they have a bakkie waiting nearby onto which to load the filled containers. The thieves are armed and dangerous.
A case in point according to the Vryheid SAPS’s PV Mbatha, occurred on October 25, at about 1:20am, when a heavy-duty truck driver parked his Eastern Cape-registered truck on the side of the road near Stilwater Hotel. He slept undisturbed but at 4:45am woke to find his diesel stolen. The value of the diesel was R10,816.00. No one has been arrested and the police are investigating.
On the same night, another truck driver parked his vehicle in East Street in order to catch a few hours sleep. The following day at about 4:00am he was woken by patrolling policemen who told him that his fuel tank was damaged.
The driver checked and discovered that the fuel pipe had been cut and around 600 litres of diesel had been stolen, the value of which was about R8,112.00.
Major Mbatha issued the following warning on Monday this week: “The stealing of diesel in the Vryheid area is on the increase and the victims, most of the time, are truck drivers. Therefore they are warned not to fill up with diesel before they stop, because unknown people are moving around to steal that diesel in the early hours of the morning.
“ They must immediately phone the police when they hear something suspicious or any noise of tampering with his truck. The number is 034 989 5506/7.
“These thieves of diesel are dangerous, they have cars and are armed with firearms. Therefore, please don’t accost them, rather phone the police immediately.
“We also appeal to any member of the public who might be able to help the police with information to bring these perpetrators to book, to come forward and phone Vryheid Detectives at this number: 034 989 5706.”