LIMPOPO – The police has a major breakthrough in the theft of copper cables and mineral resources with the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of around R4 million worth of stolen goods during intelligence led operations conducted in the Tzaneen and Phalaborwa Clusters.
Police Spokesperson, Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe said: “The successful operations which composed of various police units and private security companies were organised in an effort to fight the scourge of copper cable theft in the province.”
During these operations two suspects aged 38 and 25 were arrested on separate incidents in Phalaborwa ,Tzaneen and Letsitele areas and the following items recovered:
- Copper from the Phalaborwa Mining company
- Aluminium cables from Eskom
- Copper cable with mark of Transnet
- 20 litres of transformer oil
- 1× 4 m blue scale used to weigh the stolen items
- Copper cables weighing 60kg
Five vehicles were also confiscated during these operations:
- Black Mbenz C 200
- Grey BMW
- Yellow Isuzu KB
- Black Nissan X-Trail
- White 813.E 22 TATA truck
The estimated total value of all the recovered items is about R4m and origin of the confiscated vehicles and unmarked copper cables are still being determined through the ongoing police investigations, confirmed Ngoepe.
The two suspects, aged 38 and 25, will appear before the Nkowankwa, Phalaborwa and Tzaneen Magistrate Courts respectively.
