Transport MEC welcomes Sanral 'terrorist' arrest

30 January 2014 - 13:22 By Sapa
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MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, at the opening of South Africa's first commercial compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station on November 27, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa. CNG is a transport-fuel alternative which produces less greenhouse gasses than petrol. It is especially suited for long distance fleets and can reduce fuel usage by 30%.
MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, at the opening of South Africa's first commercial compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station on November 27, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa. CNG is a transport-fuel alternative which produces less greenhouse gasses than petrol. It is especially suited for long distance fleets and can reduce fuel usage by 30%.
Image: Cornel van Heerden

Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi on Thursday welcomed the arrest of a Soweto man accused of "terrorist acts" against the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

"Such acts should be condemned as they are aimed at inducing insecurity within the public, intimidating a state-owned entity, or to cause fear and panic in the civilian population," he said in a statement.

He applauded the police for their swift action.

The Hawks arrested the 28-year-old man in Centurion on Wednesday for alleged involvement in two white powder scares and a bomb scare at Sanral's headquarters in the past two weeks.

Sanral denied claims by the Hawks that the arrested man was its employee.

"...The individual arrested works for a service provider on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and is not a Sanral employee, as has been mistakenly reported," Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona said in a statement.

The bomb scare took place on Sunday. The building was evacuated and a sweep carried out. No bomb was found.

The premises were also evacuated on both Tuesday and Friday last week, after a suspicious powder, initially feared to be anthrax, was found.

Electronic Toll Collection later reported that the substance was harmless.

The man was expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday, on charges relating to acts of terrorism.

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