Ten suspects including two Johannesburg City Power security personnel have been arrested in connection with the theft of copper cables. In the first incident, six suspects were arrested at a City Power copper cable storage facility in Booysens on Saturday.
On Monday, four suspects were arrested for cable theft in Moffatview.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena says Eskom’s rolling blackouts are exacerbating cable theft incidents.
“City Power is pleased with the arrests. We hope it will produce a stiff sentence that fits the crime to serve as deterrence to other cable thieves out there. A week ago a suspect who was arrested for damaging our infrastructure was convicted and sentenced to a five-year direct imprisonment.”
“We are also worried about the involvement of our security members in the cable theft crimes. These are the people who should be assisting us in securing, patrolling and also arresting cable thieves,” says Mangena.
