A copper cable thief in Alrode was stopped in his tracks
The suspect was seen pulling the cable out, and when officers approached, he started running away.

A cable thief was stopped in his tracks in Alrode. The incident, which occurred on January 21, resulted in a male suspect getting detained by local security officers and law enforcement authorities.
Fox Security’s reaction officers were on routine patrol when they spotted a vehicle driving along Potgieter Road, in Alrode, and it seemed like the vehicle was pulling a cable.

Concerned officers tried to stop the vehicle and investigate what the vehicle was doing but the lone driver sped away. Officers reacted quickly by giving chase to the fleeing copper cable thief.
The panicking suspect seemed to have run out of options and brought his fast-moving vehicle to a halt, opened the driver seat and he fled on foot.
Determined security officers did not let up and kept giving chase towards the suspect until he was caught. Officers tackled the suspect to the ground and detained him. The stolen copper cable was recovered.
Brackendowns SAPS officers were called to the scene and the suspect was taken into police custody.

• A report published in 2023 by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), an organisation that researches global organised crime trends, found that South Africa loses about R200 billion worth of copper cable to illegal activities.
The report also noted that international criminal syndicates have a vested interest in South Africa’s copper due to its demand on the black market.