Drone helps nab suspects tampering with Transnet fuel pipeline

A gang tried to siphon fuel from a Transnet fuel pipeline in Mpumalanga on Thursday night, the Hawks said.

The Hawks arrested two suspects linked to Transnet fuel theft in the Phumula area along the N3 on Wednesday night.  Stock photo.
The Hawks arrested two suspects linked to Transnet fuel theft in the Phumula area along the N3 on Wednesday night. Stock photo. (123RF/Tomasz Wyszolmirski)

A gang tried to siphon fuel from a Transnet fuel pipeline in Mpumalanga on Thursday night, the Hawks said.

Two suspects aged 23 and 44 were caught in Vosman after a drone team working on the pipeline saw suspicious activity. Security and law enforcement teams were alerted.

“The team arrived and managed to arrest two suspects out of the six. The others managed to flee,” said Hawks spokesperson Capt Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.

An inspection determined the pipeline was damaged but no spillage was detected.

The equipment used by the suspects was seized.

The suspects will appear in the eMalahleni magistrate’s court on Monday.

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