Municipal employees nabbed for stealing Parks Department equipment
The Ekurhuleni Metro Parks Department, in Railway Street, Boksburg, has been left baffled by the mysterious disappearance of expensive equipment from their storage rooms, between June and August this year.
This prompted the Parks Department management to seek the assistance of the EMPD Loss Control and Investigations Unit, to investigate the matter.
The investigation led to the arrest of two municipal employees and a garden services provider on Monday, August 17.
The missing equipment, which includes a bush cutter and chainsaws worth thousands of Rand were also recovered during the arrest.
“Using hi-tech gadgets and other investigative means, EMPD investigators were able to positively identify the culprits.
“The third suspect, pointed out by the arrested pair, coincidentally is the owner of a garden services business,” said EMPD spokesperson Wilfred Kgasago.
Kgasago explained that, following a brief interview of the duo by the Metro Police, they promised to fully cooperate and led the investigators to a house in Reiger Park, where a bush-cutter worth R8 000 was found in the garage.
“Afterwards, the suspects proceeded to Langenhoven Street, where a third suspect was found in possession of four chainsaws valued at R6 000 each.”
All the recovered equipment had the serial numbers filed off and municipal bar codes removed.
The trio, whose ages range between 36 and 39, have been charged with possession of stolen municipal property at the Boksburg Police Station, and were expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrates Court on Tuesday, August 18.
