Nine alleged cable thieves arrested in Joburg

Nine men have been arrested for cable theft and tampering with essential infrastructure in Johannesburg.

City Power – Joburg’s electricity distributor – said on Monday these arrests come amid rising cases of theft and vandalism across all its service delivery centres (SDCs), with the most notable and concerning incidents reported at its Randburg SDC.

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“There has been a disturbing trend around the vandalism of transformers, causing prolonged recurring outages in areas such as Ferndale, Bordeaux, Kya Sand, North Riding, Sharonlea, Fountainbleau, Blairgowrie and Windsor,” said spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

“During the period of 6-13 March 2024, nine males were arrested for theft and tampering with essential infrastructure. The suspects were handed over to the police for further investigation and to allow for the criminal process to take its course.”

He said arrests are being made every week.

Battle intensifies

Sergeant Thela, general manager for security management at City Power, said the entity had intensified its battle and resources against the perpetrators of crime on its network.

“What is of concern to us, which we are appealing to the Department of Home Affairs to assist us with is that that most of the suspects we apprehend are foreign nationals,” Thela said.

Mangena explained that in Roodepoort a Zimbabwean national and two other men from Lesotho were apprehended on 12 March for being in possession of stolen copper cable.

“The next day, 13 March 2024, three Malawian nationals and a Mozambican were arrested in Saxonwold after they were caught digging out a copper cable.

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“The four were charged with tampering with essential infrastructure.

“Though the greatest number of those found to have been involved in criminal acts associated with the electricity equipment are of foreign origins, the entity has also nabbed South Africans for similar crimes.

“A South African male was taken into custody after he was caught attempting to vandalise a transformer substation (TSS) in Village Deep on 6 March 2024.”

This suspect was caught red-handed after breaking the padlock and door down leading to the chamber.

“On 10 March 2024, another South African male was arrested in Tshepisong, Soweto after being found in possession of copper cable. The stolen cable was found in the suspect’s vehicle.”

Working with communities

Thela added the arrests are testament of the effectiveness of City Power’s internal controls, coupled with collaboration with communities and law enforcement.

“Our efforts and determination in the fight against cable theft and vandalism of the electricity equipment also demonstrate how much more we can achieve when we join forces with communities.

“We can only succeed when we work together to curb this scourge that compromises the safety of the residents of Joburg as well as the impact it has on the economy as prolonged power outages resulting from cable theft and vandalised electricity equipment affects business productivity,” Thela said.

Last December, City Power launched an internal probe to identify internal linkages to “what seemed like an organised criminal syndicate targeting City Power infrastructure”, Mangena added.

“As part of that plan, we have also deployed more security resources with special focus on intelligence and the use of technology to detect wrongdoing and respond timeously.

“Since then, there has been a notable increase in arrests, including internal collaborators.”

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Thela warned those involved in “the destructive business of cable theft” and vandalism of the network that the net was closing around them.

“They will face the full might of the law. This warning also goes to City Power employees and those contracted to do work on behalf of the entity.

“We have arrested some of our own, including contractors and we will not stop until we rid the business of such criminality,” he said.

Mangena encouraged residents to report any suspicious activity to the 24-hour risk control centre on 011 490 7900.