Elias Gray, diesel heist suspect. Pic supplied
Police have launched a manhunt for Elias Gray (it is not clear if this is his real name) who recently pulled a daring diesel heist against his employer, Alliance Fuel.
After careful planning, Gray managed to make a clean getaway with one of their multimillion rand trucks that was fully loaded with R1.5million worth of diesel.
The fugitive, believed to be a Zimbabwean national, is suspected to be hiding in Cape Town, where he is known for his extravagant lifestyle.
In a bid to facilitate Gray’s capture and the recovery of the stolen company truck, Alliance Fuel CEO’s, Walter Gilfillan, has offered a reward of R100,000 or $5,500.
“This is very bad for the fuel industry and we need to put a stop to it. This kind of brazen act doesn’t only hurt my business financially, but it also hurts our reputation because these syndicates are starting to think that we are easy to infiltrate,” said Gilfillan.
He added, “Our primary goal at the moment is to ensure the apprehension of the driver who absconded with our asset. We intend to make an example of him, sending a clear message that criminals will be apprehended and prosecuted, along with their accomplices.”
The reward I have put out is my way of assisting the cops and prosecuting authorities to facilitate a speedy arrest and we hope that the National Prosecuting Authority moves very swiftly on this case as a demonstration of how serious they are about bringing these syndicates to book.
The specialist security contractor tasked to track down the driver and his accomplices said they believed the alleged thieves had a six-hour headstart after they had removed the tracking units from the truck.
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“As the modus operandi goes, they plugged the tracking devices onto their own batteries to keep the signal on in order not to alert tracking companies and they disappeared.
“Right now, we kind of know that they have already emptied the load and sold that off. But we have put out an alert on the truck and we will find it should it surface because they won’t be able to sell it to anyone. The only option they have is to break it up into pieces, which will still eventually get them caught,” said the private investigator who preferred to keep his identity anonymous due to the sensitivity of the work he conducts for his clients.
Information and evidence gathered by Alliance Fuel suggests that Gray may have had assistance from someone inside the fuel giant’s control room, who would eventually overlook an important alert from the truck’s tracking unit, thus enabling a clean getaway by the robbers.
The security consultant commented, “This incident exhibits all the characteristics of a criminal syndicate at work, and our investigation has pinpointed Cape Town as a key location, where Elias Gray often indulges in a lavish lifestyle. We managed to obtain photographs from his now-deleted Facebook profile, depicting opulence and a vehicle with cloned license plates, further linking him to a criminal syndicate.”
Although security cameras at Alliance Fuel’s expansive depots are positioned to respect drivers’ privacy within the trucks, footage from the night of August 12 indicates the potential presence of one or two additional individuals inside the truck with Gray.
Regarding the possibility of the driver being kidnapped during the heist, the security contractor dismissed this theory, stating, “We are certain he was not abducted. Polygraph tests have been administered, revealing four individuals who failed. Among them is an employee of the security operations center. When the trackers were tampered with, an alert was raised, and this employee claimed to be new and overlooked the alert. However, this explanation is questionable, as unusual activity like this should immediately raise suspicion.”
The police response to the case has been criticized for its delay, with an investigating officer assigned five days after the incident was reported.
Alliance Fuel is also attempting to locate Gray’s wife, emphasizing that she is not a suspect in the crime. The company is seeking her assistance in locating Elias, as she may be the last person to have seen him. However, they discovered that her ID is suspected to be fake during a background check.
Fuel suppliers invest significant sums in state-of-the-art security measures to ensure the safe transport of fuel from depots to clients. The case has been officially registered with the Kliprivier police station under case number CAS 41/8/2023.
Individuals with information leading to the arrest of the truck thief or the recovery of the stolen vehicle can contact authorities at [email protected] or [email protected], or call 0877111155.
