Police recover 861kg of suspected stolen copper belonging to eThekwini Municipality.
Two suspects have been arrested for stealing copper cables worth an estimated R850 000.
The copper cable thieves were arrested on Tuesday.
Copper cable theft
Police spokesperson Captain Carmen Rhynes said the South African Police Service (Saps) eThekwini District Infrastructure Task Team members conducted operations in Malvern when they encountered the suspects.
“A suspicious truck was stopped and searched. A large amount of suspected stolen copper cables belonging to eThekwini Metro Electricity was recovered. Both the driver and the crew, aged 49 and 50 years old, were arrested and charged with tampering with economic infrastructure and possession of suspected stolen property.
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Additional charges
Rhynes said additional charges of receiving stolen property and possession of burnt copper cables were also added.
“861kg of suspected stolen copper were recovered with a total value of R850 000, 288kg of which belonged to eThekwini Metro Electricity.
“The estimated value of the property belonging to eThekwini Metro Electricity was R306 000. Both suspects will be appearing in Pinetown Court on Wednesday morning,” Rhynes said.
Joburg theft
In February, the City Power Security Risk Management in Johannesburg arrested six people employed by a contractor for possession of suspected stolen copper cables.
The suspects were handcuffed at the Observatory Substation in Johannesburg for possession of suspected stolen copper cables.
Cable theft
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the arrests followed a routine site inspection by Operations Management to verify the removal of all burnt cables damaged in the underground tunnel fire incident on Thursday evening, 6 February 2025.
“This forms part of our ongoing fight against cable theft and vandalism, plaguing the Inner City and other areas across Johannesburg.
“During the inspection, we discovered four individuals from a contracted company cutting and stripping various sizes of copper cable — some burnt and others intact. A search of the bus used to transport those workers revealed two individuals with copper cables hidden in their bags and shoes, while additional cables were found under the bus,” Mangena said.
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