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Desperate fuel thieves arrested

by Staff reporter
16 Feb 2018 at 06:06hrs | Views
WHEN the going gets tough the hustle becomes desperate.

That's the case of two known fuel dealers in Plumtree town who decided to drain diesel from a parked vehicle because they failed to smuggle the fuel from Botswana.

They were eventually arrested and appeared before Plumtree magistrate Joshua Mawere.

The court heard that Denzel Moyo (22) and Clement Machona (21) on 12 February at around 9pm, Moyo went to Dokotela Garage in the border town's industrial sites.

On arrival they found a DAF truck parked in the yard with no one in attendance.

The pair jumped into the yard armed with a 40-litre container and a funnel.

They opened the truck's tank. However, before they could drain the fuel they were disturbed by a mechanic.

They ran away, leaving their tools of trade at the scene. A police report was made and investigations led to their arrest.

"We had no money and we were starving that's why we decided to go to the garage to steal diesel from the truck which we had been observing making trips. We wanted to sell it on the black market," Machona said in court.

"How do you fend for yourself," asked the magistrate.

"We are fuel traders in town," added Machona.

They were slapped with a $100 fine each. In addition three months were conditionally suspended for five years.

Source - bmetro
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