Staff Reporter
Seven suspects aged between 28 and 67 were arrested at the crack of dawn following a year-long investigation into a sophisticated pre-paid electricity vending racket in the Free State and Gauteng.
The suspects were arrested at different premises in Gauteng by a multidisciplinary team that included the Hawks on Wednesday.
A statement released by the Hawks said the criminal network was responsible for large-scale pre-paid electricity fraud and theft.
“This . . . investigation ensued in May 2020 in Bloemfontein . . . probing the illicit sale of electricity facilitated by illegal vendors who have in their possession illegal electricity vending machines,” said the Hawks.
This practice is called ghost vending as it involves the illegal sale and purchase of electricity.
“The syndicates reportedly operate in groups nationally and generate income of approximately R150 000 to R250 000 per day from illicit sales of electricity,” said the priority crime investigating unit.
“They are highly organised, well-equipped, closely networked and are difficult to track due to the fact that these machines do not transact on a network or at a single place, but are constantly roving.”
The suspects were allegedly responsible for selling illegal electricity to pre-paid customers.
“The illegal practice of selling prepaid electricity results in multi-million-rand losses to Eskom per annum,” the Hawks explained.
“This loss of revenue and the increase in non-technical losses contributes significantly to the electricity woes of the country.
“These arrests come at a time when the country has been plunged into load shedding due to the bleak power situation.”
During their arrest, one of the suspects allegedly enticed the arresting officers with a R100 000 gratification and was additionally charged with corruption.
The other suspects were allegedly found in possession of illegal firearms as well as ammunition and were also slapped with additional charges.
Several cellphones, laptops, SIM cards, seven luxury vehicles, pre-paid electricity vouchers, transaction records and cash amounting to R714 800 were seized for further investigation.
The national head of the Hawks, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, warned those involved in similar activities that they will soon have nowhere to hide.
“This work is continuing and the team shall not rest until all the members of this organised criminal group are accounted for,” he said.
“Once more, I call upon the community not to buy electricity from illegitimate vendors . . .”
Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter described the investigation as groundbreaking and highly commendable.
He said the ghost vending machines are a huge liability to the power utility as they enrich the criminals with very little to no effort.
“This will help restore confidence in Eskom as we continue to fight the scourge of crime that plagues the institution and the country,” said De Ruyter.
“This is economic sabotage of the highest degree and the perpetrators of such crimes must be brought to book and dealt with to the full might of the law . . .”
All the suspects are expected to appear in the Fochville Magistrates Court in Gauteng on Friday.