Gauteng police have arrested three men, including a City Power employee, for stealing copper cables in Alexandra and Booysens, respectively.
The City Power Infrastructure Task Team conducted a joint operation with Alexandra and Bramley SAPS, JPMD, and Prasa around numerous scrap metal yards in Bramley to curb the ongoing scourge of cable theft in the area.
According to City Power, the two suspects, aged between 30 and 50, were arrested at one of the scrap metal yards during the operation and were found in possession of about 100 kg of copper cables belonging to City Power, while the other two suspects managed to flee the scene.
on Thursday, City Power Security Risk Management Team arrested an official working at the Reuven Service Delivery Centre (SDC) for stealing various types of cables, including service cables, said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
An intelligence-driven operation which was conducted by the City Power Security Risk Management Team revealed that some staff members were suspected of cable theft at the salvage yards across the business.
The team followed the trail of one suspect after he was caught on CCTV cameras on July 1, 2023, loading cables from an evidence locker at the Reuven Complex.
City Power chief executive Tshifularo Mashava said a case of cable theft was opened at the Booysens Police station and the suspect was arrested and has been remanded in custody after he appeared in court on Friday.
Mashava said they expect more officials to be arrested, and their teams are following the leads.
She also said that since the new financial year, which began on July 1-3 August, City Power has already recorded over 170 incidents of cable theft and vandalism and over 20 suspects arrested.
"We welcome these arrests which will serve as a deterrent to would-be cable thieves. As an entity, we have never ruled out the involvement of some of our employees and contractors crimes relating to infrastructure crimes such as cable theft and vandalism.
“We are encouraged by the recent arrests of some of our own which attests to the efficiency of the security measures we have put in place.
"We commend the work done by our partners in the security cluster, and the communities who have joined hands with us to curb the scourge of cable theft and vandalism. We call on the scrap metal yards owners to work with us and not against us in this fight against the sale of copper cables", Mashava added.
Mashava further said the cable theft and vandalism cause unnecessarily protracted disruptions to our operations, inconvenience our customers, and put the lives of our residents at risk.
"We urge residents to report cable theft, vandalism, or any suspicious activities near their infrastructure to 0800 116 166 or on WhatsApp to 083 579 4497," Mashava said.
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