Captain Mokhosazane Zwane from Heidelberg SAPS and his team arrested three men along the R23 on July 30.
The SAPS members were conducting daily routine patrols when they noticed a white panel van driving rather slowly.
The back tyres were deflated and the front tyres were lifted off the ground.
The vehicle, with three male occupants, was stopped.
The SAPS members searched the vehicle and found burned copper in the panel van.
When the driver was asked about the copper, he told the SAPS members he purchased the copper from a company in Durban.
Proof of purchase could not be produced.
Further interrogation by the SAPS members followed and the answers were not satisfactory.
The driver and his accomplices were arrested and will appear in the Heidelberg Magistrate’s Court soon.
The estimated value of the copper is around R500 000.
