Man in court over stolen containers
2012-12-12 14:18
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Durban - A 43-year-old man has been charged with stealing
shipping containers worth millions of rand from Durban's harbour, police said
on Wednesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge said Yusuf Omarjee, the
manager of a storage company, appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court on
Tuesday on charges of theft, fraud and money-laundering. He was released on
bail of R10 000.
Mdunge said the police's organised crime unit began its
investigation in June, when 14 stolen containers were found at a property in
Queensburgh, Durban.
The owners of the property apparently bought the containers
for R200 000 - a fraction of their value - from the storage company for which
Omarjee works.
Two more containers were found at the storage company's
premises, as was a stolen forklift.
Losses over R100m
Mdunge said foreign shipping companies stored empty
containers at the company in Maydon Wharf, but often found that some had gone
missing.
When the shipping companies complained, other containers
would allegedly be stolen from those in stock as replacements.
He said shipping companies had complained of losses in
excess of R100m.
Mdunge said during the course of the investigation, Omarjee
sought a high court order to have the investigating officer removed from the
case, but the court rejected this.
"The investigating team is adamant that there could be
more stolen items that are kept elsewhere. The police operation was executed on
the full strength of a search warrant and was seen as the highest seizure and
recovery in the southern hemisphere over many years," he said.
Omarjee was expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate's
Court again on January 31.
- SAPA
