A 27-year-old man is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Monday after he was found in possession of copper worth more than R50 million.
This after members attached to the Hawks’ Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) on Friday operationalised information received about a syndicate allegedly involved in various criminal activities including dealing and selling copper in Pretoria.
In a statement on Saturday, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said the team pounced on the given address in Attie Street in Booysens, where they found the owner of the property who indicated that he bought the copper at an auction in Bloemfontein.
The suspect produced a second-hand goods dealer permit claiming he is authorised to deal in copper.
“The suspect was informed that he needs to be in possession of a certificate allowing him to possess copper as per Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015.The 27-year-old suspect was arrested and copper valued at over R50 million was confiscated.
“The suspect is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 06 November 2023,” said the Hawks.-SAnews.gov.za
