Diesel theft accused cops to hear their fate

Three Brighton Beach policemen weer due to find out the decision on their bail application in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Durban - Three Brighton Beach policemen weer due to find out the decision on their bail application in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Constable Bhazani Mseleku and Warrant Officers Grodon Shangase and Scelo Ndlovu were so anxious to hear the judgment that they told the court they were willing to forgo the use of an isiZulu-speaking interpreter.

However, magistrate Mahomed Motala said his judgment would require it to be interpreted to ensure it was understood by the men, as well as the packed public gallery, where people waited all day for this matter to be called.

Accused still in custody are required to be taken back to Westville Prison by 3.30pm, and therefore it was too late to hand down his decision on the application, as the matter had started late and the court had heard lengthy closing arguments on Wednesday.

The police officers are charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft for their alleged involvement in the hijacking of diesel tankers and stealing of about R5 million in diesel.

The men were arrested by their Brighton Beach colleagues in May.

Both State advocate Mahen Naidu and defence attorney Nerissa Farrington had handed in supplementary affidavits on Wednesday before they began their closing arguments.

According to the affidavit of investigating officer, Brighton Beach Detective Warrant Officer Rudolph Grobler, on April 4, a fuel tanker, valued at about R1 million, was travelling on the M7 freeway at Rossburgh, carrying R400 000 worth of diesel when it was stopped by a marked police vehicle.

He said there was no apparent reason for the fuel tanker being stopped. The ­police vehicle, Grobler said, was booked out to one of the accused policemen.

According to Grobler, when the driver got off the truck and spoke to the policemen, three men climbed into the truck in full view of the policemen. The driver was taken captive by the armed men and later placed in the boot of an awaiting car.

The next morning, the fuel tanker was found in Jacobs with another fuel tanker parked alongside it, with the fuel having been decanted into the second tanker.

Several hours after the hijacking, the driver was found in the boot of car abandoned in uMbumbulu.

Grobler then referred to another incident, on April 4, at a fuel garage in Jacobs. He said an off-duty police officer noticed a fuel tanker decanting fuel at this garage. He found this suspicious and started recording the incident.

This video, Grobler said, shows the hijacked fuel tanker decanting fuel and a marked police vehicle that was parked close to the tanker.

He said this vehicle belonged to the Brighton Beach police station and was booked out to two of the accused.

Grobler said he obtained the cellphone data of the three accused and the garage owner and the person renting sites in Jacobs, and established they all had direct contact before, during and after the hijacking and decanting process.

The garage owner, Dhanaseelan Chetty, appeared in court on Wednesday and was expected to apply for bail next week.

From further investigation, Grobler established that another fuel tanker hijacking took place in February on the M7, at the N2 off-ramp, in Durban. He said the tanker was stopped by a marked police vehicle and when the driver got out of the truck, the policemen pointed firearms at him.

Four men then appeared and held the driver at gunpoint as they drove off with the truck. The driver was later found in Adams Mission.

The fuel tanker was found abandoned in uMkomaas and all the fuel it had been carrying had been decanted.

Grobler said cellphone data linked the three policemen and two other people who were in direct contact before, during and after the hijacking.

He said one of the accused had booked out the police vehicle that night and the vehicle tracking system places them at the hijacking scene.

The men, currently on suspension, argued that the State did not have a strong case against them and said they could afford R5 000 bail each.

They also said they would comply with bail conditions should they be released.

noelene.barbeau@inl.co.za

Daily News