STOLEN DIESEL

Two brothers were arrested yesterday morning at the Monte Christo Service Station in Lafrenz, Windhoek, after selling four containers of stolen diesel to a long distance bus driver.

The young men, aged 19 and 20, were caught through an operation led by the Windhoek City Police.

Namibian Sun learnt from the 19-year-old ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ that a relative who drives a truck gives them a petrol card or calls them to the service station wherever he is filling up. They then fill the containers with diesel that the two brothers sell at the Monte Christo service station. A container is sold for between N$170 and N$200 but prices can be negotiated, he said. Yesterday eight 25 litre-containers of diesel were confiscated by the police. The police are also in possession of a receipt showing that the containers were filled with about N$2 000 of diesel at a service station in town.

The young man told Namibian Sun that they get about N$200 to N$300 as payment which they use “to fix their vehicle”. He said they “just started last week Friday and yesterday was the second day of business”.

Senior Superintendent of City Police and Emergency Management Department Gerry Shikesho said the bus driver who bought four containers of diesel for N$1 000 will also be charged - for buying stolen goods. Shikesho said the money will be used as evidence. It appears it is not the first time the driver bought diesel from the young men.

Shikesho said they had been investigating this case since last week and decided to act yesterday. Two more people were expected to be arrested.

He said this is just “one case in a big picture” and added that it’s up to employees to put mechanisms in place to control this kind of theft because they are losing a lot of money.