Four municipal truck drivers arrested for theft

Four municipal truck drivers were arrested at the Tshwane metro council’s waste management compound in Pretoria West on Friday morning on charges of theft, after they were allegedly involved in a scrap metal syndicate, the Hawks said. This is the second leg of the investigation after a Bulgarian scrap metal dealer was arrested on charges of possession of stolen goods in Akasia last Friday.

“The four suspects would steal scrap metal from the waste management compound and sell those items to the Bulgarian dealer. The dealer would then ship these items to India,” said the Hawks spokesperson Captain Paul Ramaloko.

Stolen items included municipal billboards, lamp posts and metal cubicle dustbins. “The suspects will be appearing at the Pretoria North Magistrates Court on Tuesday and will be spending the long weekend in police custody. We are serious about crime and we are warning scrap metal dealers to keep an inventory of their dealings,” said Ramaloko.

According to the Tshwane metro council, the stolen items are currently valued at R6 million. “Our Audit Risk Management Office discovered that 53 cubicle dustbins were missing from our depot. Each dustbin costs R120 000 and we are currently looking at a total of R6 million. However, we still need to determine the value of the other stolen items such as the lamp posts and the billboards,” said spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.

Last week, the Hawks were led to the scrap yard in Akasia after analysing the municipal truck’s GPS reports. Upon their arrival, they discovered other stolen items including cables, boxes of chocolates and biscuits and bottles of mineral water. The Hawks also found that vehicles on the premises all had one registration number. “The Bulgarian scrap metal dealer is currently out on R10 000 bail after he appeared at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. He is expected to reappear on 20 May,” Ramaloko said.