The five men who were caught red-handed stealing metal railway sleepers on Tuesday appeared in the Morgenzon Magistrate’s Court, Mpumalanga.
The five accused were named as 56-year-old Phillip Thyse, 27-year-old Kashveer Harrilil, 45-year-old Mahlomola Johannes Mphasha, 45-year-old Sipho Maseko, and 53-year-old Mthabine Semid Tsotetsi.
All five were arrested on Friday, 29 April 2022, by the Hawks acting on a tip-off about people who were stealing metal railway sleepers in Morgenzon.
The court heard that some of the stolen metal railway sleepers had already been delivered to a scrapyard in Gauteng.
A Transnet investigating officer has since positively identified the metal railway sleepers as belonging to the company.
The case against the five accused was postponed to 10 May 2022.
All five accused were remanded in custody.
