South African Police Arrest Trio for R3 Million Railway Track Heist in Mpumalanga

• Three men in Mpumalanga were arrested for stealing railway tracks worth R3 million in Barbton and were caught in Middleburg
• The police discovered the stolen tracks during a search of a suspicious truck on the N4 highway
• South Africans have called out the police for not doing their job and think citizens should take over law enforcement

MIDDLEBURG - The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga has arrested three men for stealing railway tracks on Tuesday, 19 September.

Railway track thieves caught in Middleberg

The assailants reportedly stole R3 million worth of railway tracks in Barbton and were later caught in Middleburg.

According to News24, the tracks were reported stolen last month. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the anti-gang unit and the highway patrol were on high alert and spotted a suspicious truck on the N4 in Middleburg.

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The track was stopped and searched, and that is when the police found the stolen railway tracks.

All three men, aged between 41 and 51, were arrested for possession of stolen property and are kept at the Middleburg policing precinct, reports TimesLIVE.

Police also confiscated the truck with all its contents for further investigation.

South Africans annoyed by the criminal act

@NNomvo said:

"They have failed to govern the country, they can say all they want to say to defend themselves, oksalayo, they are just limping helplessly and aimlessly, completely out of touch with reality, it's a mess and a shame "

@DonnDada_ said:

"This is such an annoying crime."

@matome_07 said:

"Should caring citizens take over law enforcement themselves since police failed."

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Moraka Mofomme commented:

"Those 3 must be escorted back to Barberton to offload and install those railway tracks back into the same position they were."

Shockwave Anderson asked"

"The last time I checked, we had Railway police. Where were they when thieves stole the whole railway and were able to load it into a truck?"

Mike Mkonqo said:

"Next up, a train will be stolen."

Undocumented Zimbabwean national sentenced for stealing railway tracks worth R132k

Briefly News previously reported that an undocumented Zimbabwean national was caught red-handed stealing pieces of a working railway track that he stripped and sentenced to six years imprisonment.

Petros Vingiran appeared in the Pretoria Regional Court. The 26-year-old was found guilty of theft of essential infrastructure.

He also pleaded guilty to entering South Africa illegally. The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahajana said security guards found Vingiran at the Koedoespoort campus on a functional railway line while stealing locomotive bearings valued at R132 000 that belonged to Transnet.

Source: Briefly News