A Free State police official and four petrol attendants have been nabbed for fraud over fuel that they claimed was dispensed into police vehicles.
Lengthy investigations by the Hawks
On Tuesday, members of the Hawks in Bethlehem pounced on the police officer and his alleged accomplices. This was following lengthy investigations, according to the Haws.
They are accused of stealing state money through dubious transactions of fuel charges.
Hawks spokesperson in the Free State, Captain Christopher Singo, said: “In 2022, the station commander of Lindley SAPS became suspicious of overspending on fuel.
Audit conducted in 2022
“In February 2022, a preliminary audit was conducted on all state vehicles registered under Lindley SAPS. The audit that was conducted discovered some questionable fuel transactions made on state vehicles,” said Singo.
He added that the matter was then reported to the Hawks in Bethlehem for further investigation.
“The investigation uncovered that a 53-year-old warrant officer allegedly used different state petrol cards. …He misrepresented as if he poured petrol into the state vehicles. However, the vehicles were not at the fuel station but parked at Lindley SAPS.
Colluded with petrol attendants
“It was further discovered that the warrant officer was conducting these fraudulent activities, assisted by petrol attendants. The incident took place during the period between January 2022 and August 2022. As a result of the fraudulent activities, the SAPS suffered a total loss of R46,911,” he said.
The suspects are expected to appear before the Reitz magistrates’ court on Thursday. The accused will face charges of fraud, theft, and defeating the ends of justice.
Sunday World has established that it is a norm for petrol attendants and state officials to collude in the crime of stealing government money on dubious fuel transactions. This as the cop was arrested alongside a petrol attendant in Bizana, Eastern Cape, for the same crime.
