A 40-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman have been arrested at Kya Sand, Randburg for the possession of stolen City Power cables valued at R500,000.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla said their Tactical Response Unit working in collaboration with SA Police Service’s Joburg Organised Crime Unit and the Gauteng Traffic Police arrested the man and woman who claim to have bought the cables.
The police’s operational team followed up on information on copper cables that were allegedly being cut, and were ready to be moved to an unknown destination.
“The officers proceeded to the given address at a scrap metal dealer on Volt Crescent in Kya Sand. Upon arrival, the officers found a male who introduced himself as the person in charge of the business,” said Fihla.
“A search at the premises was conducted and copper cables weighing approximately 400 kilogrammes, with an estimated value of R500,000 were found,” Fihla said.
“When questioned on how the copper cables were acquired, the male informed the officers that they had purchased them at an auction and produced an invoice that stated that Telkom copper was purchased.”
However, the alert police officers noticed that the invoices did not correspond with the cables found on the premises.
“The relevant stakeholders were summoned to examine the cables and they confirmed that the cables belonged to City Power and not Telkom,” Fihla said.
“The duo was immediately arrested and detained at Douglasdale SAPS where a case docket was opened for further investigation.”
Meanwhile, acting JMPD chief of police, Angie Mokasi has saluted “the proactive response” and the collaborative efforts demonstrated by the operational team.
She said the police’s responses “reflects the unwavering commitment to enforcing the law and fighting crime in the City of Johannesburg”.
In October, the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court sentenced two Zimbabwean nationals, Namer Ndovu, 27, and Collen Singanje, 28, to 10 years of direct imprisonment each after they were convicted for tampering with essential infrastructure.
The two were arrested on December 21, 2020, at Eskia Mpahlane Drive in the Wonderboom area of Tshwane after Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) security guards found them with eight pieces of signal copper cables.
IOL