A 50-year-old man was arrested on Monday last week after it was found that he had illegally connected the power supply to a business complex in Bruma.
The arrest formed part of the #BuyaMthetho operation.
The man was arrested by officers from the SAPS and Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) working with the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS) department.
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According to City of Johannesburg mayor, Clr Herman Mashaba, the building complex run by the man owed the city around R7.5-million for rates and services.
Mashaba said the team first visited the property two weeks prior to the man’s arrest and found that the electricity supply to the property had been illegally connected.
At the time of their first visit to the property, technicians disconnected the electricity, but when they returned they found it had been reconnected illegally.
The man was detained at Cleveland Police Station.
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He appeared in the Jeppestown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Mashaba instructed the JMPD officers to continue monitoring properties identified for making use of illegal connections.
Operation #BuyaMthetho is a new multi-departmental operation aimed at enforcing by-laws around the City of Johannesburg.
Residents can report any theft, fraud or corruption activities through the city’s 24-hour tip-off hotline on 0800 002 587, or visit the GFIS offices situated at 48 Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein.
