Copper thief nabbed in uMhlanga
The suspect has been linked to more than five cases in the north Durban area.
THE Upper Umhlanga Security Trust (UUST) has urged uMhlanga homeowners to be vigilant after a spate of copper theft cases. Hayden Conradie of the Trust said they made a breakthrough arrest last on Herrwood Drive last week.
The suspect, who was carrying a sack of copper pipes, was spotted near the Herald Drive and tried to outrun a pursuing security officer. He was eventually arrested on Herrwood Drive close to the KZN Sharks Board.
“Since his arrest, we’ve managed to link him to four cases alone in our area. He has also been linked to more than five cases of copper theft in the La Lucia area. When one of our security officers spotted the suspect, he was carrying a sack of pipes weighing easily over 15 kilograms. He tried to dispose of the stolen items and threw them on the side of the road during the chase.
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“Thankfully we managed to arrest him and hand him over to the Durban North SAPS whose investigations are ongoing.
“We did ask how the suspect knew which homes to target and he said there was a group of five suspects operating in the area. We were told they identify homes with items left in the post box that haven’t been collected in days,” he said.
Conradie said shortly after the arrest, another case of copper theft was registered by another member of the gang.
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“From the intelligence we’ve gathered the group are selling the copper pipes in Phoenix to a scrap dealer. All the homes that we’ve recorded cases in have had no alarm systems and in each of the cases, the suspects have chosen strategic times to strike. The pattern has been from midday to 2pm in the afternoon. We are urging homeowners to be vigilant and ask their neighbours to be on the lookout for anything suspicious or out of place,” he said.
Conradie said they were confident more arrests would follow as entry and exit routes into the area had now been identified.
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