An alleged cable thief was arrested in Highveld on Thursday after being chased by security guards and a member of the Community Policing Forum (CPF). According to the police, the security guards at the Eco Park Estate noticed a man hiding in a ditch in a field close to the estate’s Gate 2 in Witch Hazel Avenue. The ditch was also close to a hole from which cables were stolen the previous night.
The 29-year-old Mozambican ran away from the security guards as they approached him, into the field towards Nellmapius Drive. The guards chased after him in their vehicle, while relaying the man’s description over the community radios.
According to the member of the CPF, who wished to remain anonymous, he was driving in the area after tending to an armed robbery that took place at the MTN cell phone store in the Southdowns shopping centre, when he noticed a man in a red shirt and dark trousers running alongside the road. He also saw the security guard trying to grab the suspect, but the suspect fought back and ran away. The CPF member cornered off the suspect with his bakkie, giving the security guard a chance to detain him. He is of the opinion that the man might have been part of a group of ten men who stole cables in the area on Wednesday evening. He noted that 250m of a 100mm thick cable was ripped out. This cable was the main power supply to the estate.
Ward Councillor Peter Sutton said cable theft was a frustrating issue in Centurion and he was determined that the issue be resolved as soon as possible, because it was costing the municipality millions of rands each time to replace cables. He noted that Maroela Street in Hennopspark had been hit hard with cable theft, as ten incidents had occurred in the past three months.
Sutton was of the opinion that a proper system should be implemented and thorough investigations should be conducted by the Combined Private Investigation division. “The CPI seem to have no strategy or plan. I’m currently taking this matter further with the Tshwane metro,” Sutton said.
“Hopefully this arrest will lead to more clues and to us solving the issue regarding cable theft in Centurion,” Sutton said.
According to Warrant Officer Antoine Botha, a 1,8km long cable to the value of R2,2m was stolen. “This cable was actually replaced three weeks ago after being stolen before,” he said. Botha confirmed that the suspect was held at the Lyttelton police station and appeared in court on Friday. The case was postponed until Wednesday, and the suspect taken to Newlock Prison until his next court appearance.
During the time of this successful arrest, two suspects robbed a cell phone store in a shopping centre nearby. According to the police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu, the suspects tied up one of the security guards and then pointed a firearm at the store manager, who was trying to press a panic button after becoming suspicious of the two men. Gumbu said that as the suspects entered the store, they asked the manager to open the cell phone counter and grabbed Samsung and Nokia cell phones to the value of approximately R36 638. At the time of the robbery, no customers were in the store.
The suspects are still at large and anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects should contact Warrant Officer Gumbu from the Lyttelton police station on 076-880-0913.
