A Transnet regional manager and a company director are facing charges of fraud and theft amounting to R1.5m, involving the removal and illegal sale of railway lines.They are Mthuthuzeli Swartz, 58, the regional manager of Transnet in the Western Cape, and Syed Nadhir Mohiudeen, 53, the sole director and shareholder of a company known as Spanish Ice Logistics Pty, based in Cape Town.The two appeared in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday in connection with fraud, theft and an additional charge of assisting another person to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities.The state alleges that between December 2011 and February 2013, near Elliot in the Eastern Cape – Swartz and Mohiudeen acted with a common purpose when they unlawfully misrepresented that they were entitled to remove or uplift 42,000m of railway lines between Sterkstroom and Maclear.But it all came to a head in 2013 after Transnet caught wind of the situation.The state alleges it will cost R58,858,975 for Transnet to rebuild the 42,000m of railway line that was uplifted.According to the charge sheet, Mohiudeen telephonically contacted Adrian Samuels, the sole director and shareholder of a company known as Akisisa Pty.He allegedly informed Samuels that he had 360,000 metric tons of used rail material and claimed he had obtained it directly from Metrorail.Samuels and his cousin, Cedric Samuels, then travelled to Cape Town to discuss the deal.While at a coffee shop in Woodstock, Mohiudeen allegedly introduced the Samuels cousins to Swart, who confirmed that Spanish Ice was involved in various programmes with Metrorail and that the work could benefit all the parties.The Samuels cousins allegedly gave a R5m guarantee letter to Spanish Ice and were promised by the two accused that the railway line they saw in the Woodstock railway yard would be lifted.The state alleges, however, that shortly afterwards, Mohiudeen came up with excuses why delivery of the stock could not happen.The court documents further allege that after the Cape Town deal failed to materialise, Swartz and Mohiudeen had identified Sterkstroom and Maclear as the area to disassemble and lift up the railway line.The cousins then allegedly requested paperwork from Mohiudeen regarding the lifting up of the railway line in the Eastern Cape, but again Mohiudeen continued making empty promises.“While waiting for paperwork, the cousins, with the permission of Swartz and Mohiudeen, mobilised a workforce and began to uplift the railway lines,” the documents read.“Buyers were approached for the railway line material and the goods were loaded in trucks and taken to Durban Harbour ready for export.”On February 3 2013, Transnet security lifted the lid on the illegitimate transaction and reported to the employer, who in return contacted the Samuels cousins, who informed Transnet that Swartz and Mohiudeen had facilitated the deal.The case was postponed to August 5.