Electric cable thieves terrorise Mahalapye

Koketso Kgoboge | Wednesday April 3, 2019 14:26

 

Senior superintendent, Modisaotsile Bonang revealed recently that they have recorded seven cases of stolen cables in less than a week. The cables were stolen from a number of wards in the village. 

The police suspect that a knowledgeable syndicate of criminals that harvest copper for sale has descended the village and causing havoc. 

Bonang said the criminals stole the cables at a time that they were live. “These are no ordinary thieves. They are criminals with a background in this business,” he said. 

“They disconnect and steal live electric cables that connect to private homes. It is a dangerous exercise for them and they also put members of the community in danger of electric shock.” 

Bonang said following the rising cable theft, they had increased their patrols around the village particularly at night. He said through the patrols they nabbed two suspects in possession of copper cables. 

He said the two suspects are a Zimbabwean couple; man aged 58 and a woman, 45. The two were found in possession of 750 kilogrammes of copper in their vehicle. 

The copper was rolled in 30 bundles each weighing 25 Kg. Bonang said from preliminary interrogations the two suspects claimed they were carrying their copper from Zimbabwe. 

“We are still trying to establish if the two could be linked to the recent spate of electric cable crimes in the village at the same time we are trying to establish if the source of the copper in the suspect’s possession,” he said. 

BPC acting marketing and communications manager, Sandy Mosarwe confirmed the cable theft saying the crime was crippling the Corporation. 

He said in the recent incidents reported in Mahalapye 150 metres of power cables valued at P10, 000 were stolen. However, he said the crimes affect all areas across the country but were prevalent in cities and towns. 

He said these crimes contributed negatively to the Corporation’s business and affects delivery.

“There are quite a number of risks imposed on the corporation as a result of these frequent incidents, like operational risks (interrupted supply of power), financial, safety and reputational risk,” Mosarwe said.