A woman from eMalahleni as well as four more suspects in Kendal and Ogies were arrested in connection with suspected stolen Eskom property worth R1m. All five suspects appeared in court this week.

Beatrice Geldenhuys (40) was arrested on Monday, July 4, at her scrap yard on the old Middelburg Road when an Eskom pylon weighing 740kg, 350m Eskom cable and burned copper weighing 98.5kg were allegedly found at the scrap yard.

The estimated value of the suspected stolen Eskom property is R200 000. Geldenhuys’ case was postponed to August 5 for further investigation.

Her arrest follows a multi-disciplinary disruptive operation at several scrap metal dealers after information was received of the scrap metal dealers allegedly buying suspected stolen goods.

After the arrest, the team went to two more scrap yards and found copper cable weighing 44kg in Kendal and copper weighing 72kg in Ogies.

Raputsoe Taoana (29), Prince William Mbanzini (29) and Lawrence Makhinika (30) from the scrap yard in Kendal were arrested and charged with possession of suspected stolen property in terms of the Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009.

Takalani Nndweleni (44) was arrested at the scrap yard in Ogies.

The four appeared before Ogies Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, July 6 and they were remanded in custody.

The case was postponed to July 12 for a formal bail application, and the investigation is continuing.

The total value of the seized properties is over a million rand.

The acting provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Brigadier Gregory Gaillard hailed the multi-disciplinary approach by the team from different stakeholders. He further warned the community to refrain from stealing Eskom equipment as it is affecting the economy of the country.

On May 3 two cable thieves were sentenced to a total of 27 years imprisonment for stealing more than 4km of Eskom’s aluminium cables, back in 2018.

Anye Valentine Nkwenti was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, while Happy Dube was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after they were found guilty in the Bronkhorstspruit Regional Court.

The theft of cables, overhead lines, transformers and conductors costs Eskom approximately R2b per year.

Illegal electricity connections and cable theft often lead to prolonged power outages and compromise the quality of supply, which affects businesses, essential services, as well as the day-to-day lives of society, and this harms the economy.

Communities should be aware that tampering with, stealing and damaging electricity infrastructure affects the performance of the network, hinders the continuous supply of electricity, and increases electricity-related injuries and fatalities.

Eskom customers are encouraged to report incidents of vandalism and theft via the following channels: Share Call Number 08600 (Eskom) / 08600 37566 or the Eskom crime reporting line 0800 11 27 22 (toll-free).