Infrastructure theft syndicate leader arrested
Eskom's investigative team was tipped off about a transformer that had already been dismantled.
Infrastructure theft endangers lives and the economy
A 50-year-old man, suspected to be a leader of a syndicate specialising in network infrastructure theft in Balfour, Mpumalanga, has been arrested following a thorough investigation by Eskom’s investigation team, Mpumalanga News reports.
While carrying out the investigation, the team received information pointing to a syndicate leader involved in the theft of at least seven transformers in the area.
The team was also alerted to the planned theft of another transformer in the Greylingstad area, and members were dispatched to the would-be crime scene.
READ MORE: Cable theft a contributor to train crash
The following day the vehicle driven by the syndicate leader arrived at the scene, and the suspects got off about 300 metres from where the transformer was lying on the ground.
One 25Kva transformer and a cellphone were recovered. The vehicle the suspects were travelling in, a white Toyota bakkie, was also handed over to the Balfour police, and a case of theft was opened.
The most recent case of Andries Koos Mahlangu, who was sentenced to three years in prison for cable theft by Kriel Magistrates’ Court, is evidence that South African courts have, indeed, started to take this crime seriously.
“There is hope, however, that this crime will ultimately cease to exist,” said Tebogo Rakau, divisional executive for security at Eskom.
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– Caxton News Service
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