Scrapyard owner and electricity cable thieves arrested

The suspects and the scrapyard owner will appear before the court this week on charges of theft and possession of stolen property.

Johannesburg police have arrested cable theft suspects and a scrapyard owner in a sting operation with City Power.

City Power officials hailed the arrests‚ saying it was a blow against a crime syndicate operating at a scrapyard in Booysens‚ south of Johannesburg.

The suspects were busted while trying to sell the electricity cables that were stolen at a bridge in Klipspruit West in Soweto.

The scrapyard has been closed for trading in stolen copper.

The suspects and the scrapyard owner will appear before the court this week on charges of theft and possession of stolen property.

Sicelo Xulu‚ City Power’s Managing Director‚ said in a statement: “We are pleased with the progress we are making in the war against cable theft and we wish to thank members of the community for working with us and providing much-needed intelligence to curb the scourge of cable theft.

We appeal to the public to continue to be our eyes and ears so that we can rid our society of this cancer of cable theft which is costing the country dearly and hampering our ability to provide efficient service delivery to our communities”.

The arrest of the suspects in Booysens follows the apprehension of four suspects found in possession of material belonging to City Power‚ he said.

Cable theft is conservatively estimated to cost the South African economy about R5 billion a year directly and indirectly.

Xulu says besides the cost of replacing the infrastructure and damaged equipment‚ cable theft contributes to increased electricity tariffs and prices for ordinary South Africans.

Source: timeslive.co.za