WATCH: SAPS swoop on scrapyards
Brakpan SAPS and SDS Protection inspect non-compliant scrapyards and issue fines, close one down.
Brakpan SAPS and security service SDS Protection held a second-hand goods operation from 10:00 to 13:00 on Tuesday.
They visited five scrap metal yards around the Brakpan CBD to look for possible stolen copper cables and railway sleepers.
Certificates and licences to operate were checked, as well as second-hand log books and compliance to recycling laws.
Lieutenant Colonel Pearl van Staad, Sergeant Sibusiso Mavuso and Sergeant Priscilla Kunene along with personnel from SDS Protection inspected each site thoroughly.
One scrapyard was closed and four additional non-compliance fines were issued, including a tyre business next to the third site. The fines amounted to R9 500.
At the first site, which does not have a permit to trade in copper, copper wire and possible municipal circuit breakers were found. A fine for non-compliance was issued.
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The second location yeilded a find of copper, but no signs of municipal cables were discovered. A non-compliance fine was issued due to improper record keeping of sales.
The third location had signs of copper cables being processed, including a burn site where small pieces of copper was found.
It is suspected that illegal copper wires were being processed and were hidden in the house on the property, which was locked.
The yard was fined for improper record keeping and the tyre business next door received one for failing to register as a business.
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Copper cables and large blocks of steel were found at the fifth site. No records of who sold the cables or the steel to the yard could be found.
It was found that the yard does not keep records of much of the scrap they receive and they were fined and closed. The yard could only present out-of-date certificates and licences which further led to its closure.
SAPS appeals to scrapyard operators to not accept stolen goods, and to keep proper logs of all trades made.
Police also requested that all certificates and licenses be up to date so as not to incur fines.
