KZN police investigate fuel card syndicate
The syndicate allegedly uses cloned cards at various garages on Durban's South Coast to buy diesel, which is then sold back at low prices.
The impounded truck with the diesel.
Port Shepstone police are investigating a case of fraud, after a truck loaded with diesel was apprehended by the Umkomaas SAPS at the Shell Ultra City in Umgababa, reports Mid South Coast Rising Sun.
The truck was impounded with over 500 litres of diesel, which were allegedly purchased in Marburg, with a cloned credit card.
The vehicle was not reported as stolen.
A reliable source claimed that the police are investigating a suspected fuel card syndicate, which allegedly uses cloned cards at various garages on the South Coast to buy diesel.
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The fuel is then resold in Durban at a markedly lower price.
The unsuspecting garage owner does not realise that they have been defrauded, as the card looks legitimate and the transaction is immediately authorised.
When the real cardholder queries the purchase of the fuel, the bank involved reverses the payment and the garages do not get paid.
The source further claimed that over 4,000 litres of diesel, to the value of more than R70,000, have been resold by the syndicate at a price of R10 per litre.
This is much lower than the current price of R16 per litre.
Although no arrests have been made at this stage, it is believed that arrests are imminent.
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