A 33-year-old Mozambican man was arrested for allegedly stealing Transnet copper cables worth R80,000 in Machadodorp, Mpumalanga.
Hawks provincial spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said the man was arrested on Tuesday.
Sekgotodi said security guards were doing their daily patrols when they noticed a group of people tempering with copper cables.
“The securities gave a chase and suspects ran away in different directions and managed to apprehend one. The suspects left behind pieces of copper cables with an estimated value of R80,000. The suspect was charged and detained pending his court appearance,” she said.
He has been charged with damaging of essential infrastructure.
The man is expected to appear in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
In another similar incident, IOL reported that a security guard was arrested in Delmas, Mpumalanga, for possession of suspected stolen rolls of copper cables valued at R150,000.
The security guard was cornered by his supervisor, and was allegedly found in possession of 29 copper cables that were allegedly stolen at Argent, at the railway station.
At the time, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said that the security supervisor was patrolling on the R555 road between Delmas and Ogies, when he noticed one of his security vehicles, a Toyota Hilux light delivery vehicle.
Mohlala said when the driver of the light delivery vehicle noticed his supervisor, he suddenly sped off and the supervisor followed to investigate.
“The supervisor tried on countless occasions to stop the vehicle in front, with no success,” Mohlala said at the time.
“Finally, the vehicle drove into the direction of a dead-end road and was forced to stop. The supervisor quickly approached the driver, only to find that it is one of his colleagues and three other occupants who managed to alight from the vehicle and fled the scene.”
Mohlala said that the security guard was then accosted by his supervisor, and upon searching the car, 29 rolls of copper cables to the value of R150,000, were recovered.
“He was taken to the police station where he was immediately arrested,” Mohlala said.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News