EMPD arrests man with copper worth R500 000
The Ekurhuleni Metro Police arrested a man for being in possession of copper worth R500 000 on April 7, while conducting routine patrols in the CBD.
EMPD Wilfred Kgasago said: “Officers pulled over an open-deck four-ton truck with four massive felt bags fully-laden – evidenced by the way they were bulging.”
On inspecting the bags, officers found them loaded with copper, for which the driver could not provide valid documentation.
Kgasago said the top level of each bag was thinly lined with scrap metal, apparently used to conceal the copper below.
He added that the copper uncovered still had both Eskom and Telkom tags.
“When asked for documentation for the cargo, the driver produced a dodgy document dated 2012, whereupon he was arrested and the suspect goods were confiscated,” said Kgasago.
In a last ditch effort to escape arrest, Kgasago said, the man called his lawyer who, after checking the documentation against the load, decided there was little he could do to protect his client and left the scene.
A case of possession of suspected stolen goods was opened against the 58-year-old driver, who is expected to appear in the Benoni Magistrates Court, soon.
