Cameras at substations in Cullinan and Rayton earn their keep
Reaction teams were deployed when the suspects activated the cameras at the two substations.
A gang of four suspects targeted the Zonderwater and Rayton substations on May 24, damaging the cables at both.
As soon as the suspects set foot close to the substation, they triggered the recently installed cameras. The substation feed was sent directly to the security companies and the CPF monitoring the cameras.
D-Force monitors the cameras in Rayton, and D-Force and Diamond Alarms monitor the Cullinan cameras.
At about 22:00, the suspects cut one cable at the Zonderwater substation but fled without it when the reaction teams arrived.
The same suspects targeted the Rayton substation a few hours later. The reaction team responded in three minutes, but the suspects had already damaged some wires.
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In the three minutes from jumping over the fence till they fled again, the suspects damaged one cable with an axe, resulting in no power to the farms and areas in Rayton until their reconnection.
The entire group of patrollers, security and a tracking dog chased the suspects into the night.
Ward 100 Clr Johannes Bekker said, “The cameras pick up movement outside the walls of the substations, and then the reaction teams are immediately deployed.
“Criminals will always find a way to commit crime. As a community, we make it as difficult as possible for them to succeed,” said Bekker.
Karen Yssel, the chairperson of the Cullinan CPF, said, “As the community, we must take hands with the City of Tshwane and Eskom to stop the onslaught on our infrastructure. When criminals damage the infrastructure, we, the residents and businesses, are most affected.”
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