A cable thief was caught red-handed in Valhalla on Friday.
The arrest was made after the CPF received a tip-off from a resident who spotted two men stealing cables from an electricity pole in Ninow Road.
The CPF and the Tshwane metro police tracked down the two thieves and managed to arrest one of them on the corner of Viking and Meteor Road, close to Laerskool Swartkop.
CPF chairperson in Valhalla Braam Rossouw said police also confiscated an already cut cable that was left at the school.
According to Rossouw, although only one of the thieves was arrested, the police obtained valuable information that would help the investigation and hopefully lead to more arrests.
He said residents were frustrated at often being left without power due to cable theft.
“Every month since August, there were no decreases [in theft], but slight increases. It makes the community angry and tired.”
He said in August more than 20 cable thefts were reported that left bigger parts of the residential areas in the dark, including Clubview and Hennops Park and Bronberrick.
Rossouw said the CPF believed the cables were being sold to a scrap metal dealer.
“We have received information on where it is being sold.”
Rossouw said the thieves often got away as they ran into military grounds after stealing the cables.
“There were times when more than seven thieves were spotted at scenes, but they would get away. We tried progressively to capture these crooks.”
He said the arrest was a huge breakthrough after so many thieves had slipped through their fingers.
The Tshwane metro municipality said they were already working to fix the damaged cables.
Also read:
Cable theft still an issue in Moot
Security guards arrested for copper cable theft
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