Two people have been arrested in connection with the truck arson.
Photo: Provided by Joey Govender / Joey’s Towing
- Police have arrested two more people in connection with the arson of trucks in KZN, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
- They said one of the suspects was arrested with an unlicensed firearm.
- All together, five people were arrested.
Two other people have been arrested in connection with the arson of trucks in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
National police spokesman Brigadier Atlinda Matthey said the suspects were arrested in Mpumalanga and Limpopo on Friday and Saturday.
He added that the suspect, who was arrested in Limpopo, was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
In all, five people have been arrested so far.
“The police are confident that they are closing in on ringleaders who are behind these criminal acts,” Mathi said.
More than 20 trucks have been set on fire in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo this month.
According to City Press, police increased their visibility on major highways and remained on high alert after sporadic burning of trucks in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
It is alleged that they have already identified 12 people in connection with the attacks.
Read | Truck owners R2.7 million burned before reaching 2000km
Police Minister Beke Seeley, speaking to media in Pretoria on Wednesday, said police had adopted a “zero tolerance approach to avoid further attacks”, with a focus also on finding those behind the arson trucks.
He said: “In this outcome, the South Australian Police Service has increased visibility and left nothing to chance across all counties. All major roads have been secured, and regular patrols are in place along identified high-risk roads.”
News24 previously reported that one of the burned-out trucks was owned by LI Coal Resources (PTY) LTD.
The driver, who escaped unharmed, was traveling between Ermelo to Beit Retief in Mpumalanga on Tuesday morning when he noticed a truck blocking the road.
“He stopped to check what was going on and in the process someone knocked on the door with a gun and started using bad language,” Bongani Phillips, CEO of LI Coal Resources, told News24.
He said the driver tried to back off in an attempt to get away, but the attackers threw a petrol bomb at him.
“Luckily, he was able to stop the truck and jump out of the burning truck. He was so traumatized,” Phillips added.
The 1 month old truck, worth R2.7m, has less than 2000km on the clock.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing attacks on trucks, Home Minister Arun Motswalede said companies that hire foreign nationals as truck drivers are doing so to “protect cheap labour”.
Motswalede added that he did not support the violence, which has left more than 20 trucks set on fire in parts of the country.
However, he said he felt the pain of the local drivers.