Cele: Police tracing 'persons of interest" in truck torchings

Cele briefed the media on Wednesday to give an update on the 21 trucks that have been torched across the country since the weekend.

He said police are looking into people of interest who are believed to be involved in the violence.

"There are 12 people that have been identified, some by name, some by their addresses and some from the cars that they drive."

Although the motive of the torching of trucks has not yet been established, Cele believes that it is linked to sabotage.  

"Intelligence suggests that attacks on trucks may be business related and we know that these are not random acts of criminality but organised. Evidence before us shows us that it is a coordinated, organised and sophisticated operation that seeks to undermine and sabotage the state and the business."

Since the weekend, nine trucks have been torched in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, while three trucks have also been torched in Mpumalanga raising fears that the violence could see a repetition of the 2021 July unrest.

But Cele dismissed those reports, saying that the current violence is not linked to the 2021 insurrection.