Cape Town - In a breakthrough in the torching of trains at Cape Town Station, police have arrested two minors for arson.
Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed on Wednesday that two suspects, aged 14 and 15 were in custody after their arrest on Monday. The teenagers appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, and their case was postponed to January 9.
This comes after Metrorail urged the public to assist it in identifying two suspects caught in the act on CCTV cameras.
Fresh footage of the suspects was released at the weekend, and a reward of R100000 offered for information leading to the conviction of those behind the November 28 arson attack.
Four people were initially thought to have been behind the attack.
At least 18 train carriages worth R61million were set alight.
Damage was caused to not only the carriages, but also to the overhead electrical wiring, which cost an additional R154000 to repair.
Fourteen of the station’s 24 available platforms had to be closed, which affected thousands of commuters.
Provincial police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said preliminary reports indicated that a resident of Elsies River recognised one of the suspects from the CCTV camera footage circulated.
“The community member alerted the police.
‘‘A 14-year-old suspect was subsequently arrested in Elsies River. Detective investigations led the police to another suspect, a 15-year-old in Delft, who was also arrested.”
Potelwa said the suspects were remanded in juvenile custody.
It was reported that the 14-year-old pupil, apparently from De Waveren Primary School in Ruyterwacht, was recognised by a schoolmate who alerted a teacher.
The teacher apparently immediately went to the house of the pupil and handed the pupil to Elsies River police.
Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said a statement regarding the arrests would be released soon.
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