City Power contractor workers arrested with stolen copper cables

The City Power (CP) security risk management team arrested six people employed by a contractor at the Observatory Substation in the inner city service delivery centre (SDC) for possessing suspected stolen copper cables on February 11.

General manager Isaac Mangena said the arrests followed a routine site inspection by operations management to verify the removal of all burnt cables damaged in the underground tunnel fire on the evening of February 6.

This formed part of their ongoing fight against cable theft and vandalism plaguing the inner city and other areas.

“During the inspection, we discovered four people from a contracted company cutting and stripping various sizes of copper cable, some burnt and others intact. Searching the bus used to transport those workers revealed two individuals with copper cables hidden in their bags and shoes, while additional cables were found under the bus. The suspects are aged between 20 and 43.

“Police officers from the Jeppe Police Station were immediately contacted, leading to the arrest of the six individuals. The weight of the confiscated copper cables amounts to 129.5kg, which has been handed to CP. An additional 11kg of copper cable found under the bus was booked and transported to our storage yard.

“The net is closing in on those involved in the scourge of theft and vandalism, particularly those employed or contracted to CP. In light of recent thefts and vandalism that leave our customers without electricity for an extended period, we have intensified our commitment to rooting out the problem,” said Mangena.

CP will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure offenders are held accountable.