"I have received information that two trucks have been petrol bombed in KwaMashu and we arrested 17 people for public violence," said Senior Superintendent Vincent Mdunge.

"We have been told that they were burnt by people who are on strike."

The strike in the road freight industry entered its third day on Thursday, leaving several petrol stations to run dry.

Mdunge said strikers had also blocked traffic in Warwick Avenue in Durban.