Eskom alleged diesel thieves arrested

Two security guards are expected to appear in the East London Magistrate Court today after their arrest at Eskom’s Port Rex power station in relation to the alleged theft of diesel worth more than R145 000.

The arrests are the fourth such incident involving criminality at power stations over the past month.

The power utility said the two were arrested while on duty after investigations found that they were paid to permit “a vehicle to collect the stolen diesel from the site during the night shift”.

“The internal investigations supported by the Bidvest Protea Coin Investigation Team and SAPS [South African Police Service] arrested the two security guards a few days after Eskom laid criminal charges for the theft of diesel incidents.

“The investigations are ongoing to identify other suspects and the outcome shall determine further actions to be taken against the contracted security company, including but not limited to loss recovery,” Eskom said.

Eskom General Manager for Security, Advocate Karen Pillay, called the incident “appalling”.

“It is appalling that the individuals entrusted with the responsibilities of safeguarding our infrastructure resort to such acts of malfeasance. These arrests are another significant step in our fight against crime in Eskom, and we shall continue in our pursuit to ensure that the perpetrators face the full might of the law,” Pillay said.

She added that security measures at power stations are working hard to rid the organisation of criminality.

“In our efforts to clean out the organisation, we shall ensure that guarding companies contracted to Eskom toe the line in screening their personnel and delivering services of a high standard.

“The persistent and excellent work by the Eskom Security Team, Bidvest Protea Coin Investigation Team, and the South African Police Services (SAPS), who are all working tirelessly to identify and disrupt the criminal networks, are an indication of our commitment to deal with criminality in Eskom,” she said.