BLOEMFONTEIN – The Bloemfontein Police Flying Squad made another significant crackdown on the illicit copper trade, arresting a 43-year-old man and discovering massive quantities of stripped copper. These electricity infrastructure components were in transit on a horse-and-trailer truck, northbound on the N1.

Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane, spokesperson for the Free State police, said that the initial value of stripped copper components identified was roughly estimated at R300 000. Covane said the driver will face charges ranging from tampering with and damaging essential infrastructure, possession of suspected stolen property. He is set to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court tomorrow – Tuesday. The suspect remains in custody while police continue with investigation into the theft of copper cables.

Covane said members of the Police Flying Squad intercepted the driver of a white Volvo Stralis 430 truck on Saturday, near Glen, about 20 km outside Bloemfontein. He said quantities of copper cables were concealed in various recycling bags on the truck.

Following the discovery, Covane said technicians from Telkom and Eskom, as well as Centlec, positively identified the components as their property. “Some of the copper cables, estimated to be worth more than R300 000, were positively identified by Telkom and Eskom technicians.”

“The truck and its components were also confiscated as evidence in the ongoing investigation into copper theft,” he said. Covane said members acted on crucial information about a truck suspected of transporting stolen copper cable from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg.

“The 43-year-old male was placed under arrest. He then informed police officers that he travelled from Wadeville, an industrial area in Germiston, to Bloemfontein to collect recyclable cargo at Gemini Scrap Metal in Watkey Street,” said Covane.

In June, police launched another crackdown, arresting a 47-year-old man found with various stripped copper cables worth R3 million in transit on a Volvo FH horse-and-trailer truck headed to Gauteng. Altogether, nine large bags of essential infrastructure components, also concealed under recyclable material, were seized from the truck. Police confirmed that Telkom and Centlec positively identified 40 kg and 5 760 kg of recovered infrastructure components as their property.