Cable theft
Vandalism, land invasions major obstacles to restoring CT's central rail line
Since the Western Cape's busiest line was shut in October last year, the rail system has been exposed to vandalism and cable theft and during the COVID-19...
On Saturday, the Metal Theft Unit acted on a tip-off and caught three suspects with three metres of electric cable and 13 bundles of copper wire at a house in Westbank.
The country has been battling ongoing vandalism on public infrastructure for some time now.
Last Friday, a man was arrested in the Pretoria area in an operation involving the SAPS, the passenger rail agency, Telkom and Tshwane metro police officials while three men were arrested in Mpumalanga in a separate operation.
Eyewitness News has received complaints of metal railway lines, overhead cables, and other items being taken from local stations and lines.
The broad use of copper has increased the value of the metal, enticing criminals and scrapyards to illegally obtain it.
Thousands of residents have been left without power after a fire destroyed a switching sub-station overnight.
Police seized the aluminium cables in the North West earlier this week.
Patrol officers pounced on a bucket shop in Khayelitsha on Tuesday.
The power utility said at least 25 suspects were arrested for various crimes including cable theft and illegal connections during the lockdown period.
The power utility on Tuesday said there had been an increase in vandalism to its infrastructure across Johannesburg.
This after three people were due in the dock on Monday morning after they were caught with more than R2.6 million worth of copper stolen from South Africa’s railway lines.
Prasa spokesperson Makhosini Mgitywa said that large amounts of copper were being ripped up and transported to Mozambique and India, costing the South African economy a fortune.
Eskom’s senior manager for maintenance and operations in Gauteng, Motlhabane Ramashi, said copper cable theft cost the power utility between R5 billion and R7 billion a year.
The City of Cape Town's Metal Theft and Rail Enforcement Units responded to a tip-off on Friday morning.
On Wednesday, 600 metres of overhead cable was seized in Heideveld just hours after a suspected cable thief was electrocuted near Bonteheuwel.
Law enforcement officials rushed to the scene on Sunday after receiving a tip-off.
City power says cases of cable theft are on the rise in Johannesburg and has urged residents to be cautious.
The City of Johannesburg’s Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS) acted on a tip-off about stolen copper cables on Saturday.