During a designated second-hand goods work session in Kimberley last week, it was emphasised that the buying and selling of stolen property is a crime, and can lead to an offender’s arrest and a criminal record.
During this two-day session, ten compliance inspections were also conducted at scrap metal dealers in the city, resulting in four dealers being fined and two warned for contravening the Second-Hands Goods Act.
Police also assisted Transnet in executing an eviction of a second-hand dealer who was operating illegally on their premises.
Also, four suspects were arrested for possession of alleged stolen property through stop and searches, and vehicle patrols.
Sgts Timothy Sam and MJ Sheman, police spokespersons, said the purpose of the session was to guide designated second-hand goods officers (DSOs) to perform their duties optimally; to address challenges identified by the provincial office; and to determine challenges experienced by DSOs.
WO Henk van der Merwe gave a synopsis of the impact of infrastructure crimes across the province and the importance of working with external stakeholders.
Gert Pienaar, representing Transnet, shared information on frequently stolen items of Transnet.
Vodacom’s Hardley Goliath highlighted the ramping up of security systems at their base stations due to theft and vandalism.
Eskom’s Sean Joseph indicated that Eskom is bleeding due to all the cable theft and the impact of it on the economy.
Multidisciplinary compliance inspection operations were executed on day two of the session, putting the theory into practice.
