Pretoria - Five people were arrested in Cosmo City, Johannesburg, for the theft of underground cables worth approximately R10 000, said Eskom on Friday.
The five were arrested on Tuesday after Eskom and its crime-fighting partners received a tip-off regarding plans to steal electricity cables along Malibongwe Drive near Zandspruit and Cosmo City in the Randburg area.
The group of cable thieves is reported to have been highly active in the Randburg, Devland and Soweto areas and was selling the stolen cables to a scrap dealer in Kliptown, Soweto.
“The group was arrested on Tuesday, having fled the scene of the crime the night before. They were found in possession of five metres of underground copper cable and other electrical equipment. The investigation is continuing,” said the power utility.
The power utility bemoaned the fact that it is plagued by network equipment theft. This includes the theft of overhead lines, underground cables, airdac and bundle conductors, earthing equipment, transformers and pylon support lattices.
The value of material stolen remains a serious concern, as it is indicative of organised, syndicate-driven criminal activity in the conductor theft environment, which is also experienced by other state-owned enterprises.
“The fight against network equipment theft is being addressed by means of intelligence driven investigations by the Hawks, a division of the South African Police Service (SAPS), which encompasses aggressive policing of the scrap metal market for stolen goods. The courts are also taking this crime seriously and significant sentences are being handed out to perpetrators,” said Eskom.
Meanwhile, a joint industry working group, formed by Eskom, Transnet, Telkom, SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority and Business against Crime and the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) continues to contribute positively to the fight against this crime. – SAnews.gov.za
