Petrol thieves on the loose in Serowe

Residents of Serowe have been advised to sleep with one eye open following a new trend of crime where thieves break people’s cars while parked at night to cut the petrol pipe and drain out the fuel.

The warning follows two incidents that occurred at Dinokwane ward in Serowe on different occasions over the weekend.

Serowe Police Station commander, Superintendent Poloko Oteng told The Monitor the first incident occurred at Sekgoma Memorial Hospital last Thursday night and was reported Friday morning.

He stated that after work, an employee of the hospital tried to start his car’s engine, which failed to start, only to realise the pipe transporting the fuel was ripped off and thieves managed to drain petrol out of the vehicle. In another incident, still at Dinokwane ward, Oteng said a teacher at Kgalemang Junior Secondary School reported a similar case on Saturday. He said the victim reported that after waking up he also tried to start the engine of his car. The engine, he said failed to start, only to realise that the pipe transporting fuel had been slashed and fuel drained from the car.

“We suspect that there is a new trend of thieves stealing petrol. We also suspect that there might be a syndicate targeting people’s cars looking at their modus operandi.

I am pleading with motorists to be alert at all times,” the station head added. Oteng said they have not yet taken anyone into custody in connection with the offences, but added that investigations were ongoing to locate and arrest the suspects. He implored members of the community to report anyone whom they might see carrying liquid containers at night.