Three people have been arrested for illegal electricity reconnection, which sought to hinder the Tshwane metro’s aggressive revenue collection campaign of switching off services to non-paying consumers.

In a statement the Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) said the three were arrested in Luttig Street in the west of Pretoria on Friday, while trying to reconnect electricity to a place that the municipality had disconnected.

Since mid-February Tshwane metro has embarked on a campaign to switch off services to non-paying consumers in an attempt to save the municipality from being cash-strapped.

“They were arrested for damaging and tampering with essential infrastructure,” the statement read.

In a different incident, in the early hours of Friday morning, a joint operation aimed at tackling cable theft was conducted by TMPD, SAPS and other law enforcement agencies.

During the operation, one person was arrested in Akasia in the north of Pretoria after being found in possession of suspected stolen copper cables.

More charges were added after the suspect tried to offer a bribe of R5 000 to the officers.

“He was arrested for possession of suspected stolen cables and bribery,” the statement read.

In the operation, two other people were arrested, one for possession of ammunition and the other for drunken driving and 131 vehicles were searched, the statement said.