State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and the South African Police Services (SAPS) on September 8 undertook a joint operation in response to the spike in incidents of theft of ferrochrome being transported from mines in Mpumalanga to the coast for export. "TFR has recently witnessed a phenomenon where trains that are in motion are blocked with objects on the track. These incidents take place close to informal settlements around the railway track.