Envirocycle has confirmed it is at the centre of what is believed to be the biggest single police strike and haul of illegal copper ever – allegedly the result of large-scale plundering of municipal, Eskom, Telkom and ArcelorMittal infrastructure.
Shockwaves hit South Africa’s multi-billion rand recycling industry from the weekend after police last Thursday raided the Firestone Street Envirocycle premises and said they had recovered 9 tons of shredded copper already stashed in bags.
Police said they closed the Vanderbijlpark premises after the strike – but are seemingly allowing the rest of Envirocycle countrywide to continue operations despite the unprecedented size of last week’s haul.
Police again insisted on inquiry Monday they had in fact recovered 9 tons of stolen copper. Investigations are being conducted by a specialised SAPS Provincial Unit and not by local police.
The 43-year-old manager of the site was arrested and appeared in court last Friday, but police refused to release details or even to formally name Envirocycle.
However, police at Provincial level did issue a formal media statement in which they categorically stated 9 tons of copper was seized.
An open and candid Envirocycle MD Stefan Pretorius told Vaalweekblad on Monday he and the company could not yet comment fully as they were conducting a full and complete internal investigation into the entire matter themselves.
Speaking telephonically with Vaalweekblad after returning from leave, Pretorius said:
“We will of course always give our full cooperation to the SA Police Service.
“Envirocycle is currently busy with its own internal investigation into the matter and that means we can say nothing until this is complete. “The police case and investigation must now take its course,” said Pretorius.
The Vaal has in recent years emerged as the nexus of the illegal copper trade regarding theft, warehousing and distribution of the sought-after metal – whose ultimate destination is China, which is sucking up the metal from all parts of the globe, say intelligence experts.
The illegal copper trade has also become intertwined at many levels with the illegal gold or artisanal mining industry linked to Zama Zamas, again due to the centrality of the Vaal region and access to transport networks.
The operation was carried out by a number of police units including the newly-established Essential Infrastructure Task Team (EITT) also based in the Vaal.
The value of the recovered copper is estimated at R1,3 million on the black market, but this is only a fraction of costs to replace by municipalities and companies – possibly running close to R100 million all costs included, say analysts.
