Five men are set to appear at the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court after they were arrested for possession of stolen copper cable on 10 October in Florida.
SAPS operations from the K9 Unit received tip-offs that a scrapyard dealer selling second hands good was in possession of illegal copper cable. Eskom and City Power officials were also on the scene and they positively identified the cables.
Captain Lydia Mtila-Dikolomela said, “Five suspects were arrested on the scene. Four of them were employees and the other one was an owner. The owner is also facing charges of bribery.”
Mtila-Dikolomela added that the owner tried to bribe the police with more than R30 000. The four suspects aged between 37 and 53 are facing charges of possession of stolen copper cable.
According to the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Copper Theft Barometer dropped to R12 million in July from R12.2 million the previous month, however, cable and copper theft costs the country’s economy an average of R16 billion annually.
