They were nabbed by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Illegal electricity connections are among the chief frustrations of municipalities. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
Police have confirmed the arrest of five employees of the Emfuleni Local Municipality for running an alleged electricity reconnection scheme.
They were nabbed by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in a takedown operation on Friday in Vanderbijlpark.
The arrested suspects are employees of the Emfuleni Local Municipality, attached to the Revenue and Electrical Departments.
“Preliminary investigations have established that the suspects allegedly operated a scheme in which they misrepresented themselves to municipal clients as duly authorised officials who could reconnect electricity supplies that had been disconnected by the municipality.
“Clients were allegedly instructed to pay various amounts of money directly into the suspects’ bank accounts in exchange for the illegal reconnection of electricity,” explained police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
The suspects are further alleged to have unlawfully reconnected electricity supplies without the municipality’s authorisation, resulting in financial losses to the municipality.
Further arrests are expected as investigations continue.
The five are expected to make their first appearance in court on Monday, on charges related to fraud, theft and tampering with essential infrastructure.
