A 28-year-old truck driver sub-contracted to collect coal in Wonderfontein and deliver it at Eskom’s Camden power station in Ermelo, Mpumalanga has been arrested for theft.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase confirmed that the truck driver deviated from the route with the original coal worth about R30 000 early on Tuesday morning. Instead of heading to the power station, he delivered the coal to an illegal coal yard on Bethal Road in Vaalbank near Middelburg.
On arrival at Camden power station, he was blocked off by the Bidvest Protea Coin security and the matter was reported and referred to the Hawks for investigation. The driver was later arrested and the truck was seized.
Nkwalase said the primary investigation by the Hawks’ crimes against the state unit revealed that the driver’s actions were not only intended to defraud Eskom, but to cause irreversible damage on machinery and derail the process of producing electricity.
The suspect is expected to appear at the Belfast magistrate’s court on Thursday to answer to charges of fraud and theft.
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