Cooperation between K9 Unit West Coast and security personnel led to the arrest of a suspect (30) for possession of stolen goods and tampering with essential infrastructure.
On Friday (10 June) at 06:15 an officer attached to the K9 Unit West Coast received a complaint about people busy stealing copper cables near Saldanha Steel. The suspects were monitored via security cameras.
One suspect was arrested with cables around his body and shoulders. The officer went back to the crime scene, where he took note of the damage to the infrastructure. It appeared to be Telkom cables, which was confirmed by a Telkom technician.
The damage to the infrastructure from where these cables were stripped was estimated at R200 000.
The copper stripped from the infrastructure is sold for next to nothing to legal and illegal scrapyards. A warning is issued to all scrap dealers that they are criminalising themselves when they continue to buy copper without verifying the source.
The suspect appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrates’ Court on Monday (13 June) on the above-mentioned charges.
