Pair with 52 stolen SA streetlights nabbed at Mozambique border

About 52 vandalised and stolen South African LED streetlights –  estimated to be worth about  R1.8 million – were found inside a trailer that was being pulled on a vehicle travelling from South Africa to Mozambique.

The vehicle was intercepted at Kosi Bay Port of Entry on 11 November, when the Richards Bay Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit working together with Kosi Bay Border Management Authority (BMA) conducted a stop-and-search operation at the border.

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Driving the vehicle, was a 44-year-old man together with his 31-year-old accomplice as a passenger.

Property of eThekwini Municipality

Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, told the media that when police discovered that the streetlights were the property of the eThekwini Municipality, they immediately apprehended the two men.

“Suspects could not give a reasonable explanation on how they obtained the municipality property,” he said.

He added an eThekwini Municipality official was eventually summoned to the crime scene, where he identified and confirmed the street lights were the property of the municipality.

“The two were … charged for possession of property suspected to be stolen as well as tempering with essential infrastructure,” he said.

The arrested suspects were expected to appear in the Manguzi Magistrate’s Court on Monday. 

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Earlier this year, Police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) arrested four people including a scrapyard owner for being in possession of stolen copper cables worth R2.3 million.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the KZN police spokesperson, said the suspects were apprehended during the commencement of the operation.

Refrigerated storage

Netshiunda said the Economic Infrastructure Task Team (EITT) received information regarding copper cables stockpiled in a refrigerated storage at a truck warehouse in Isipingo. This information was put into action.

A thorough search within the premises led to the discovery of copper cables and bus bars valued at approximately R2.3 million, as detailed by Netshiunda.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel