Four Eastern Cape men in dock for allegedly stealing platinum plates worth R6.3m
The Hawks have arrested four employees of a German car part manufacturer in Gqeberha for allegedly stealing platinum plates worth R6.3 million and selling them to scrap metal dealers.
Minileit, the Gqeberha branch of Germany-based ISOLITE, is the largest supplier of exhaust systems to Mercedes-Benz SA and Volkswagen Group SA plants in the Eastern Cape.
The men were arrested on Friday by the Gqeberha Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in collaboration with the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The accused - Ronaldo Henry Jason, 52, Ruwayne Eddie Luppan, 35, Roual Rowell Shelby Martin, 30, and Quewin Kirsten September, 25 - stand accused of theft and for contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
Between 1 April 2021 and 31 May 2022, the four accused allegedly acted in a common purpose to misappropriate platinum plate stock and sold it unlawfully to nearby scrap metal business, the Hawks said in a statement.
"It is further reported that all the accused successfully sold platinum plates for their personal gain and cash was directed into their pockets.
"The company conducted its internal investigation then 'red flags' were picked up," said Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana.
Mhlakuvana added the company opened a case with the Hawks after conducting an internal investigation.
"It is further reported that more investigations were conducted and revealed that the company suffered a loss of over R6.3-million."
All four accused briefly appeared in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday and were released on R500 bail each.
The case was the postponed to 20 July for legal representation.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
Developed to exceed the latest EN 15964 standards for police breathalysers proving that it will remain accurate and reliable for many years to come.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
