GEORGE NEWS - Following an intelligence-driven investigation by the Hawks, three fraud suspects were arrested at a fuel station in Nelson Mandela Boulevard at about 16:00 on Friday 22 July.
According to Southern Cape police spokes-person Capt Malcolm Pojie, the driver of a Toyota Quantum bus attempted to drive away when he and the other suspects were approached by police officers. Police however forced him to stop and searched the vehicle.
Four 25-litre containers filled with fuel, an undisclosed amount of money, bank cards and the Quantum bus were confiscated. The fuel is believed to have been purchased with a cloned fleet card.
The three, aged 25, 29 and 31, were arrested and appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on a charge of fraud on Monday 25 July. The case was postponed for a formal bail application on 1 August. All three suspects remain in custody.
Card cloning a new trend
With sky-rocketing fuel prices, the cloning of fleet cards has been increasing in the Southern Cape.
This was confirmed by Lieut-Col Xola Ndamane of the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigations Unit on Wednesday morning, 27 July, during a media briefing at the police's Garden Route District offices.
She asked the community to be vigilant to this type of crime and reiterated the importance of reporting such crimes.
"It is affecting our economy and suspects are taking advantage of the increasing fuel prices. They are stealing fuel from fuel stations using cloned cards. We are still investigating how they are intercepting these cards, but we ask petrol attendants and members of the community to report any suspicious activity to the police immediately," she said.
Lieut-Col Xola Ndamane
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