Suspects arrested for cable theft in town
They have been charged with cable theft and will appear in Lydenburg Magistrate’s Court on August 15. They were granted bail of R1 000 each and their next court appearance will be on September 7.
LYDENBURG – Phoenix Security made a breakthrough in cable theft when they caught two perpetrators redhanded early on Tuesday morning.
According to Reuben Swanepoel of the company, one of their security officers became suspicious when he was doing rounds and heard strange digging noises in Goud Street.
“He phoned me and I immediately went to investigate. I drove in the direction where he heard the noises but did not see anything. I turned around and on my way back I saw the trench. I found the two suspects hiding there and we apprehended them.”
The SAPS were called to the scene and the suspects, Khulekani Maziya (22) and Daniel Selahle (23) were arrested. The town has been crippled by cable theft these past couple of months. Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) has for months been trying to combat this. Households are left in the dark for hours as it is no small task for the municipality’s electricians to replace the stolen cables.
Capt Alfred Moela,SAPS spokesman, confirmed the arrest of the suspects. “They have been charged with cable theft and will appear in Lydenburg Magistrate’s Court on August 15. They were granted bail of R1 000 each and their next court appearance will be on September 7.”
Moela said the SAPS appreciated the swift reaction of their members and Phoenix Security. Puleng Mapheto, communications manager at the municipality said they would like to thank Phoenix for helping to combat the theft of electricity cables in town. “Cable theft is rife and we applaud this private security company for stepping up and helping TCLM combat cable theft.”
