While police minister Bheki Cele revealed that 12 people of interest in the ongoing truck torching incidents have been identified through investigations and intelligence collection, a security company has released dash cam footage of an alleged arsonist in the act of setting a truck alight.
In addition to a special team of VIP SAPS officers being assigned to investigate and curb these incidents, the army has also been deployed to the hot spots, including the N3 and N2 in KZN.
A total of nine trucks in KZN have been attacked since Sunday (July 9).
In the first incident, six trucks along the Van Reenen’s pass in KwaZulu-Natal, were burnt on Sunday night.
A truck driver, in one of these trucks, was accosted by a group of armed men who shot at the truck when he refused to stop.
Mr Cele, at a press conference on Wednesday, said there was no evidence to suggest that the attacks were in any way related or linked to the July 2021 insurrection.
“I want to allay any fears that what transpired in July 2021 will repeat itself. We have a capable State that has learnt from the past. The security teams are working in unison and the Security cluster is in a better state to respond to any eventuality,” said Mr Cele.
He said 67 people had been arrested for 11 cases relating to the July insurrection and those matters are before the courts.
Police, he said, were investigating 107 cases in KZN related to the torching of trucks since 2018.
Meanwhile, the Anti Crime Security Unit (ACSU) released a video on Wednesday morning showing a man, believed to be one of the arsonists, setting one of the trucks on fire.
The truck driver is seen in the video, being told to get out of the truck. The alleged arsonist is seen entering the truck, throwing some liquid around the cabin and then setting it on fire.
ACSU’s Bester Mare, confirmed that the video was from one of the trucks which had been torched on Wednesday morning in Ermelo.
He said according to the drivers, five men were involved and were using an old model white Toyota Corolla in which they allegedly fled in the direction of Piet Retief.