Suspected pre-paid electricity fraud, theft syndicate busted
“The suspects were allegedly responsible for selling illegal electricity to pre-paid customers."
Seven suspects believed to be linked to large-scale pre-paid electricity fraud and theft were arrested during an operation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, on Thursday.
Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said the suspects, aged between 28 and 67, were arrested when a multi-disciplinary team swooped in on several premises in the province at the crack of dawn.
“The syndicate reportedly operate in groups nationally and generate an income of approximately R150 000 to R250 000 per day from illicit sales of electricity,” he said.
The syndicate was said to be highly organised, well-equipped, closely networked and were difficult to track down as their machines did not transact on a network or at single place due to their constant roving.
“The suspects were allegedly responsible for selling illegal electricity to pre-paid customers,” Nkwalase said.
During the execution of the arrests, one of the suspects allegedly offered the arresting officers a R100 000 bribe, and was subsequently charged with an additional charge of corruption.
“Meanwhile, the other suspects were allegedly found in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition and were additionally charged accordingly,” he said.
Nkwalase said several cellphones, SIM cards, a total cash amount of R714 800, seven luxury vehicles, pre-paid electricity vouchers and transaction records were also seized for further investigation.
“Their arrests were effected during the first phase of a project driven investigation carried out by the Free State Hawks serious commercial crime investigation team in concert with Eskom investigators, Hawks digital forensic investigation, tactical response team, public order policing and local record centre,” he said.
The investigation into the syndicate reportedly ensued last month in Bloemfontein, in the Free State through an investigation into the illicit sale of electricity facilitated by illegal vendors who had illegal electricity vending machines in their possession.
Meanwhile, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the illegal practice of selling pre-paid electricity resulted in multi-million rand losses for the parastatal annually.
“This loss of revenue and the increase in non-technical losses contributes significantly to the electricity woes of the country,” he said.
He further highlighted that the arrests came at a time when the country had been plunged into load-shedding due to the bleak power situation.
Hawks national head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya commended the investigating team.
“This work is continuing and the team shall not rest until all the members of this organised criminal group are accounted for. Once more, I call upon the community not to buy electricity from illegitimate vendors.”
Lebeya added the community should keep in mind their members did not accept gratification to negatively influence the cases they were handling.
“Those who try to corrupt the officers will be arrested and the offered gift forfeited to the state.”
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