Goodhope police have issued a warning to farmers about a suspected copper cable syndicate which might be on the loose targeting solar panel boreholes.
The call follows the recent incidents involving a string of thefts in the area in which solar panel boreholes were destroyed and copper cables removed. Goodhope Police Station commander, Superintendent Batshwari Gaobatelwe told The Monitor they are currently investigating four cases. He said in the matters, thieves recently destroyed and stole copper cables from solar panel boreholes in cattle posts and lands in the outskirts of Goodhope.
“We suspect that they might be a syndicate on the loose targeting solar panel copper cable boreholes in the area after we recorded four cases in a space of a week. “These criminals come at night when people are sleeping, pull out copper cables from the boreholes, and destroy the solar panel borehole getting away with the copper cables,” Gaobatelwe said. “We suspect that copper cable thieves have identified a new trend [in theft] and now specialise in copper cables that are connected to solar panel boreholes,” he added. Gaobatelwe pleaded with farmers to erect structures to protect their solar panel boreholes so that it wouldn't be easy for thieves to pull out the copper cables.
