Copper theft
Police arrest suspect in Pretoria for theft of copper and electrical cables
The suspect was found in possession of the cables worth over R500,000.
Two suspects have been arrested after police recovered the stolen copper cables.
It’s understood the men tried to sell copper cable valued at R6,000 to a scrap metal dealer.
Over the weekend, large amounts of copper were stolen in the City of Johannesburg, plunging the city into days of darkness.
Public infrastructure, most notably Metrorail, is extremely vulnerable to cable theft, which perpetrators sell off as scrap metal.
The roads agency says its new unit will aim to reduce the amount of time motorists spend in their vehicles.
Residents have taken to streets after being without electricity since yesterday afternoon.
Power has been restored in the area after communities were without electricity for several hours.
Approximately half a billion rand worth of copper is stolen annually.
Neil Davies was arrested along with four others at a scrap metal yard on the West Rand last Friday
Neil Davies was arrested after trying to bribe police when caught with stolen copper cables.
Copper Theft Barometer compiler, Pietman Roos, says the problem with copper theft is that a single incident can lead to multimillion rand damages.
On Monday, several men were arrested in Soweto after they were found with copper cables valued at R800,000.
The City says copper theft has escalated and measures are needed to prevent it.
Five blasters, 18 electric detonators, 50 blast current indicators and 13 flashlights were recovered.
176 metric tonnes of copper worth R12,5 million was stolen across the country last month.
The SA Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday copper theft is decreasing substantially.
South African parastatals have reported a steady drop in copper theft over the past few months.
Five farms in the Boland were targeted by copper thieves.