Three behind bars before they could steal municipal cable from Emalahleni Local Municpality
Theft and vandalism of municipal infrastructure is a serious crime which carries a hefty sentence when convicted.
The Emalahleni Local Municipality is under constant attack from thieves.
Luckily a quick response from CSC Virtual Guarding prevented thieves from stealing cable at the substation in De Waal Street.
Good teamwork between the reaction officers and the local neighbourhood watch in Model Park saw the suspects safely behind bars.
Musa Mabasa (28), Alex Khoza (31), and Mandla Nkosi (33) were arrested for possession of suspected stolen properties and housebreaking implements. They appeared in court on July 8. The matter was postponed until July 15 for further investigation, meanwhile, the suspects were remanded in custody.
More charges could be added against them as the investigation continues.
This successful arrest comes after a resident pressed his panic alarm when he noticed some movement around the substation.
When the reaction team from CSC Virtual Guarding and the neighbourhood watch arrived at the scene, the suspects fled.
The teams started patrolling the area and around 01:30 they noticed a suspicious-looking grey BMW travelling along Mandela Road.
The vehicle was requested to stop by the team, but the driver ignored them and fled instead, however the car was finally cornered at a shopping centre in Ben Fleur.
“In the meantime, members from Witbank SAPS were notified about the developments and upon arrival, a search was conducted on the three occupants as well as the vehicle. During the search, police found several items including housebreaking implements, suspected stolen properties as well as a toy gun inside the vehicle,” said the provincial police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, said: “It is encouraging to have such enthusiastic people contributing positively in the fight against crime. What fascinates most is the fact that they demonstrated how things should be done. They apprehended suspects, and then immediately alerted police so that the critical part of effecting an arrest and collection of evidence or seizure of items found is done procedurally without flouting norms and standards as required by the court, thereby unintentionally scoring an own goal. Hence, their efforts and notable works are well-acknowledged and commended. We hope this good practice will be followed by other groups from different areas.”
Ms Lerato Maserumule, director of CSC Virtual Guarding, said by lining up with the police and the neighbourhood watch the criminals were behind bars before a lot of damage could be done.
“The importance of working together was again highlighted in this arrest. By sharing resources, we created a formidable force that these three criminals did not reckon with. I would like to thank the police and the neighbourhood watch for their effort,” Maserumule said.
The municipality is appealing to citizens to assist in reporting theft and vandalism of its infrastructure, which at the current rate has the potential to collapse the ability of the Municipality to provide its community with necessary basic services.
“The municipality is urging communities to report any acts of theft and vandalism as a matter of urgency and all information related thereof will be treated with strict confidentiality,” said the municipal spokesperson Mr Lebo Mofokeng.
WITBANK NEWS previously reported that cable theft spiralled out of control in the municipality.
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