Hawks swoop in on alleged copper cable thieves at Tutuka power station
The arrest of a principal inspector at the Eskom power plant on October 3 appears to be linked to a copper cable theft case in Kinross where two South Africans and two Mozambicans were arrested on September 30.
A principal inspector (36) at Eskom’s Tutuka power station was arrested on Thursday and appeared in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court on Friday for copper cable theft.
The Hawk’s Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit assisted by the Serious Corruption Investigation arrested Refilwe Motloung after receiving information from a delivery truck owner hired to transport Eskom copper cables from Standerton’s Tutuka power station to Kriel power station.
This truck was redirected to a farm. According to Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, Mpumalanga spokesperson for the Hawks, the team arrested Motloung at her home.
“An Eskom control register Removal Permit was found in her possession and seized. An Opel Corsa used to escort the truck with copper and a cellphone were also seized and taken to Standerton Police Station for safekeeping.”
This arrest appears to be linked to a copper cable theft case in Kinross where two South Africans and two Mozambicans were arrested on September 30.
A provincial traffic officer was on duty at the Kinross weigh bridge that day when he stopped a Toyota Hilux double cab bakkie loaded with copper cables.
“The officer directed the vehicle to the weighbridge station. The driver of the bakkie decided to ignore the instruction of the officer and drove away.
“The determined traffic officer gave chase and in the process, the driver lost control over the vehicle and the bakkie overturned. The Hawks-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation were summoned to the scene,” explained Sekgotodi.
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The police interviewed the three men who were transporting the suspected stolen copper cables.
“They were arrested and their alibi led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man.”
The multidisciplinary team comprising of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Secunda, Serious Corruption Investigation Secunda, Priority Crime Specialised Investigation, Mpumalanga provincial traffic officers, Secunda K9, Local Criminal Record Centre, Charles Cilliers Visible Policing, Evander SAPS, Crime Intelligence Gathering, Eskom Security and Fidelity Security followed up information which led them to a farm where an Eskom truck had dropped off a consignment of copper cables.
“It was discovered that copper cables were stripped and burnt. During the search, more copper cables (stripped and unstripped) were recovered.”
According to Sekgotodi the copper cables were stolen from Tutuka Power Station. The exhibits and the bakkie were seized and taken to Evander Police Station for safekeeping.
Thabo Dlamini (30), Dumisani Njinga (53) both South Africans, and Solomon Mlambo (24) and Silas Sithole (47) both Mozambicans, were arrested and remanded in custody.
They appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court on October 2 and the case was postponed to October 7.
Motloung will be back in court on October 10. Sekgotodi said in a media statement that the two cases might be centralised.
“Investigation is continuing and more arrests are imminent,” said Sekgotodi.
