Four alleged steel thieves arrested
Steel theft is big problem for business owners, but police do not acknowledge that there is a problem.
Four suspects were arrested within 24 hours by a security company for stripping Roadlink busses in Kruger Avenue. Monitor Net’s reaction team responded swiftly on Wednesday evening when three suspects were busy stripping broken busses that stood at a Roadlink depot.
Two suspects were apprehended and handed over to the Lyttelton police. On Thursday morning, another two suspects were arrested while the third suspect fled. According to the Lyttelton police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu, the suspects were arrested for theft. Erno Jansen van Rensburg, manager of a mining equipment company that rents the premises to Roadlink, said that theft is a major problem in the area.
“The steel that was stolen is being sold at scrapyards for approximately R2 a kilogram. Dealers have created a big market for stolen steel,” said Jansen van Rensburg.
Due to the increase in theft, Jansen van Rensburg signed a contract with the security company on Wednesday to secure the premises.
“Monitor Net responded within minutes after we phoned them when one of my workers noticed that people were busy stealing parts from the busses.” The police, however, do not think that there is a theft problem in this area. According to Gumbu statement, this incident is the first incident of theft he has heard of.
