“The concerted efforts to eradicate the destruction of valuable telecommunication infrastructure led to the recovery of cellphone signal tower batteries worth an estimated value of R180 000 in the early hours of Wednesday, February 2,” said police spokesperson in Limpopo, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.
“Police acted on information received from community members about four men allegedly tampering with cellphone tower batteries with the intention of stealing at the Matungungu Vodacom tower site that is situated in Ngove village. “When the police approached the suspects, they were met with a hail of bullets and there was an exchange of gunfire.
One suspect was fatally wounded and three ran in different directions while shooting at the police,” he said. The three stolen tower batteries were recovered at the scene. An inquest docket has been opened as well cases of attempted murder and tampering with essential infrastructure. The deceased is unknown at this stage, Mojapelo said. The police investigation is ongoing.
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The provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe, has applauded the police for their swift reaction that disrupted the suspects. The hunt for the remaining suspects continues and anyone with information may contact WO Morris Maswanganyi on 082 565 6491 or the crime stop number 08600 10111 or go the the nearest police station.
• In November last year, www. BusinessInsider.co.za reported that MTN had 200 batteries stolen a month and that Vodacom “recorded several hundred cases of battery theft a month”. It reported that Limpopo, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are the hardest hit and that the high prices on the black market for these batteries are the driving force behind it.
It also seems that during load shedding, towers are particularly vulnerable sites, according to the report.
