Africa-Press – South-Africa. An Eskom senior shift supervisor at Matla power station and an oil tanker driver were arrested earlier this week for the theft of heavy fuel oil and fraud, the company announced on Saturday.
Eskom said it had become aware that tanker drivers would offload fuel oil before arriving at the power station. Due to its poor performance, Matla is one of six power stations that Eskom has identified for particular interventions. False weighbridge slips were generated to show that the fuel had been delivered. In a statement, the company said:
The investigation began in December last year, supported by Bidvest Protea Coin, contracted to assist Eskom with security. The arrests were made by the police, and the suspects appeared in court on Thursday.
READ| Items worth more than R1bn recovered in Eskom-related fraud and theft investigations
The theft of fuel oil and diesel from Eskom and Transnet is a highly organised activity run by criminal syndicates. Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter estimated that R1bn a month is lost to Eskom through theft.
In a separate statement, Transnet reported on Friday that two people had been sentenced to hefty periods of 15 years in prison for fuel theft from Durban to Johannesburg pipeline.
Both were convicted of tampering with essential infrastructure and fuel theft. One of the convicted received an additional six-month sentence for being in SA illegally.
“We are especially appreciative of the attention placed by the Magistrate on the aggravating circumstances presented by Transnet Pipelines (TPL) on the severity of the crime and the devastating impact on our country, its citizens, and the environment,” said Transnet Pipelines chief executive Michelle Phillips.
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