Sixteen people were arrested on Tuesday night after being found in possession of copper stolen from the City’s underground tunnels.
The accused were apprehended at different locations around Johannesburg following a tip-off that a scrapyard owner in Langlaagte is part of a cable theft syndicate.
City Power spokesman Sol Masole said the suspects are foreign nationals and one of them will face an additional charge of bribery after he offered officers R10‚000 during his arrest.
“Two of the accused are from India‚ one is from Cameroon and the rest are undocumented. We are very pleased with the bust. We hope it will send a message to other criminals that law enforcement agencies are serious about combating crime‚” said Masole.