The Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) have secured a High Court preservation order against two vehicles allegedly linked to a copper cable theft syndicate targeting Eskom infrastructure.

The order, granted on October 22, follows investigations into the theft of copper cables from Tutuka Power Station and the alleged involvement of several suspects, including an Eskom employee from Standerton. The preserved assets are a silver-grey Toyota Hilux GD-6 Legend 50 and a blue Opel Corsa hatchback, which investigators believe were used in connection with the alleged criminal activities.

The preservation application was brought by the NPA’s AFU following an asset investigation conducted by the Hawks’ Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) component. The order ensures that the vehicles remain preserved pending further forfeiture proceedings.

The investigation stems from an incident on September 30, 2024, when provincial traffic officials stopped a Toyota Hilux loaded with copper cables at the Kinross weighbridge. The driver allegedly ignored instructions to enter the weighbridge and sped away, prompting a pursuit along the R546 towards eMbalenhle.

The pursuit ended when the vehicle overturned near the intersection of the R546 and Brendan Road. Police who responded to the scene found three men exiting the overturned bakkie, with copper cables scattered around the vehicle.

According to the Hawks, the driver allegedly told investigators that he had been contracted by an unknown individual to transport the cables and had enlisted the assistance of the two passengers to load and move the consignment. All three men were arrested, and the vehicle and copper cables were seized as exhibits.

The recovered cables were subsequently identified by Eskom as its property and returned to the power utility. Further investigations by the Hawks’ Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime

Investigation Unit, working with other law enforcement agencies, led investigators to an Eskom employee, living in Standerton, suspected of involvement in the theft.

Refilwe Motloung, a 36-year-old principal inspector at Tutuka Power Station, was arrested on October 3, 2024. Her arrest followed information received from a delivery truck owner who had been hired to transport Eskom copper cables from Tutuka Power Station to Kriel Power Station.

Ridge Times reported at the time that the truck was allegedly redirected to a farm, where investigators discovered that copper cables had been stripped and burnt. Additional stripped and unstripped cables were recovered during that search.

Hawks spokesperson in 2024, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said at the time that an Eskom control register removal permit was found in Motloung’s possession and seized. Investigators also confiscated the Opel Corsa allegedly used to escort the truck carrying the copper cables.

The investigation involved a multidisciplinary team comprising the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Serious Corruption Investigation units, PCSI, provincial traffic officers, Secunda K9, the Local Criminal Record Centre, Charl Cilliers Visible Policing, Evander SAPS, Crime Intelligence, Eskom Security and Fidelity Security.

The three men, who were first arrested in the bakkie, led the police to a fourth man. In the earlier proceedings. They were identified as Thabo Dlamini (30), Dumisani Njinga (53), both South Africans, and Solomon Mlambo (24) and Silas Sithole (47), both Mozambican nationals.

They appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court on October 2, 2024, while Motloung returned to court on October 10, 2024.

The latest preservation order marks a further step in efforts to pursue not only those allegedly involved in the theft, but also the assets suspected of facilitating the crime.

Welcoming the court order, Mpumalanga Hawks provincial head Major General Nico Gerber said the preservation of assets linked to criminal activity sent a clear message to those targeting the country’s critical infrastructure.

“This preservation order demonstrates that law enforcement is not only closing in on those who steal critical infrastructure, but also on the assets they use to commit these crimes,” Gerber said.

He added that copper theft undermines the economy, disrupts essential services and threatens community livelihoods. Through cooperation with the NPA’s AFU, the Hawks aim to remove the means used to facilitate criminal conduct and disrupt networks involved in infrastructure-related offences.

Gerber emphasised that the Hawks would continue to use an integrated criminal justice approach combining investigations, asset forfeiture and prosecution to hold those responsible accountable.

The Hawks and the NPA have reiterated their commitment to protecting South Africa’s critical infrastructure and pursuing the forfeiture of assets allegedly linked to copper theft and related crimes.

ALSO READ: Hawks swoop in on alleged copper cable thieves at Tutuka power station