3 years ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
Eskom has announced the arrest of another coal delivery truck driver on Tuesday (22 November) at the Camden Power Station.
The driver was found in possession of sub-grade coal destined for the national power utility, said Eskom. According to the energy company, the truck belonged to a transport group that is contracted to deliver coal to it.
Just two weeks ago, a pair of truck drivers were also arrested at the same power station while possessing stolen coal.
According to Eskom, during questioning by authorities, the truck driver said he was allowed to exit the Wonderfontein Coal Mine by security. He said he did so without the required tarpaulins on the truck being sealed with the prescribed seals.
The seals remained in his possession when he left the mine.
“While the truck left the mine with the correct specification of coal, the swapping with the inferior quality coal occurred at a known illegal coal yard in the area, prior to the delivery being made at the Camden Power Station,” said the company.
The replacement of quality coal with discarded coal has a severely negative impact on the plants and production at the power stations, added Eskom.
“Coal theft is a highly organised criminal activity, and syndicates involved are being enriched through the proceeds derived from the trade in stolen coal. Eskom continues to lose billions of rands due to the misappropriation of coal and similar commodities, which directly affects production,” said Eskom.
Several illicit coal stockyards and dump sites in the province are recipients of the stolen coal.
What the driver said
The driver alleged that an employee of the mine instructed him to proceed to the illegal coal yard in Middelburg and to offload the coal before proceeding to Camden Power Station.
He was further directed by the said mine employee to deliver the replaced coal product to Eskom– which is sub-standard coal obtained from the illegal coal yard, said Eskom.
The trailer was sealed at the illegal coal stockyard using the issued seals after the sub-grade coal was loaded, and the driver proceeded to the power station to deliver the coal.
Eskom said that the driver had been placed under arrest, and a criminal case with various charges was opened with the South African Police Services at Ermelo – his truck and trailer were also impounded.
More arrests are expected, added Eskom.
The Bidvest Protea Coin Tactical Task Team, which Eskom contracted to investigate not only coal but diesel and fuel oil theft cases, detected the tuck as it left the illegal coal yard.
The team followed the truck to the Camden Power Station, where it was stopped at the gate.
Turn of events
“The arrest of these unscrupulous individuals is a 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,” said Advocate Karen Pillay, the general manager for security at Eskom.
Pillay said that in an interesting turn of events, the investigator from Bidvest Protea Coin was offered a R50,000 bribe for the release of the driver when he engaged on the matter. The bribe was duly declined.
Coal theft is no new practice, with Eskom putting in place strict compliance mechanisms to ensure that legally procured coal makes it to its stations.
The power utility said that stockpiles of coal destined for it from the contracted mines are pre-tested and certified by both parties.
“It is required that the delivery coal trucks are inspected at the source, and the trailers are sealed on site for security purposes. The seals are to remain intact until the truck reaches the Eskom power station, where it is again inspected for tampering before the coal is off-loaded.”
Eskom said that despite this, it has discovered that some criminal elements in the mines, transporters and Eskom alike deliberately bypass the processes.
Eskom coal thief caught red-handed – with more arrests to come
English (US)