Minister of Police,Bheki Cele has confirmed during a media briefing which was held in Pretoria today(Wednesday) that twenty-one trucks had been torched so far in the country's roads.
Cele confirmed that the Police Ministry has just concluded a high-level meeting with Provincial Commissioners of KZN,Limpopo,Free State,Gauteng and Mpumalanga,led by the National Police Commissioner General Masemola.
The Minister availed himself today to assure the people of South Africa that his department is working tirelessly to find the perpetrators which are sabotaging the country's economy.
The torching of trucks happened in three provinces so far and those provinces are KwaZulu-Natal,Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
"We have found it necessary to apprise the nation on these criminal operations and outline the response of law enforcement to the isolated and corwadice acts.
"Whether it is Economic Sabotage,Labour or Service delivery related disputes,police are closing in on those who choose to use violence and intimidation for whatever motive.
"Intelligence suggests that attacks on trucks may be business related and we know that these are not just random acts of criminality.
"Evidence before us points to organized coordinated and sophisticated operations that seek to undermine and sabotage the state.
"We are encouraged that(12) persons of interest have been identified through investigations and intelligence collection",Cele said.
The torching of trucks started in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday,09 July 2023 till now whereby nine trucks has been set alight.
On the first incident,six trucks were burnt on Sunday along the Van Reenen's pass and one truck driver refused to stop when accosted by the group of armed men who shot at the truck,the driver managed to drive away unharmed.
Still in KZN,another three trucks were set alight in different locations,one truck burnt on the N11 in Engogo and another two more trucks were set alight on the N2 in Empangeni on Monday and truck drivers were attacked and robbed.
Cele said KZN police are investigating a case of armed robbery,malicious damage to property and attempted murder.
Cele added that detectives assigned to the cases are closely following up on leads and continue to gather and study all evidence at their disposal.
In Mpumalanga,nine trucks have been torched so far and the latest incident occurred in the early hours of this morning between Ermelo and Sheepmore,where four (4) trucks were attacked and set alight.
On Sunday evening,five trucks were set alight and attacked on the N4 near Waterval Boven.
In Limpopo,in the early hours of Monday morning,three trucks were attacked and burnt by six armed men while heading to the local Chrome mine along the R577 between Lydenburg and Sekhukhune.
According to Cele,police investigations are so far pointing towards an ongoing labour dispute and service delivery issues in the Lydenburg mining belt.
He maintained that police in that province are investigating three cases of malicious damage to property and robbery and are expecting to make arrests soon.
Minister of Police clarified that no incidents of trucks burnt reported in Free State and Gauteng-but those trucks which were reported burning in these provinces had mechanical failures that led to those incidents but nobody was harmed.