Armed gang raids hospital to steal copper cables

There seems to be no limits to how low criminal gangs will stoop to chase their ill-gotten gains, as demonstrated by one such gang recently.

A sophisticated armed group last week forced its way into a hospital in the North West to strip it of its copper cables for the second time this month.

The Midvaal Hospital in Orkney was raided by a group of armed men, who forced their way into an unused wing, damaging a ceiling as they searched for copper cables and metal items.

Speaking to a news broadcaster at the weekend, North West health MEC Madoda Sambatha said the gang had tortured the community on a daily basis in their search for copper.

“The department and police are working on improving and ensuring that there is proper security there,” he said.

“These are armed gangs which in most instances are even overpowering the security company we have in the area.

“The hospital is a huge facility and operates in one wing which has enough security.

“When we checked last week, the side with no security is dark and it’s easier for them to do activities there,”
he said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province slammed the department for failing to properly secure a government building.

Its North West health portfolio committee member Winston Rabotapi said the reasons given were “lame” as there was no accountability or responsibility.

“The health department knew they could be coming for a second time and the gang should not have been able to gain entry for the second time. There is no excuse.

“They should also arm their security, as they know the type of perpetrators they are dealing with,” he told The Citizen.

Copper cable theft continues to be a concern in the country, plaguing state-owned entities such as Eskom, Telkom, Transnet and municipalities.

According to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s copper theft barometer, the crime costs the
economy between R5 billion and R7 billion per year.

The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town in February sentenced five copper thieves to a cumulative 1 250 years’ imprisonment on 50 counts. The stolen cables had belonged to Eskom and Telkom.

The rail infrastructure has also been hard hit by cable thieves, as overhead power cables and signal wires have been looted on a grand scale during lockdown. Theft of signal cabling is also the cause of a number of derailments and delays on both commuter and mainline services.

Even the country’s Blue Train has been affected. Last month, a reader of The Citizen recounted how copper theft meant that the train could not proceed with its electric locomotive.

Passengers had to had to wait for a diesel locomotive to travel 250km from De Aar. As the train neared Johannesburg, the signal system was not working.

The driver had to repeatedly stop the train to change signals manually, resulting in the train being six hours late into Pretoria and many people missing connecting flights. Stolen cable is often burned in a furnace to destroy its identification before it is exported to Asian countries, mainly China.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za