A group pretending to work for City Power has been arrested for cable theft in Roodepoort after attempting to bribe their way out of cuffs.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the six suspects had dug a 10m trench to access the cables along Cypress Road in Zonnehoewe, Roodepoort.
When security guards questioned them, they claimed to be contractors for City Power. However, they were unable to produce job cards and City Power ID cards.
“The suspects then attempted to bribe the security officers with about R5,000,” said Mangena.
Three suspects were arrested while the others fled, only to be nabbed in Peter Road and taken to the Honeydew police station.
They are facing charges related to causing damage to and tampering with essential infrastructure and attempted bribery.
A vehicle used by the suspects was impounded. Pick axes, shovels and a hacksaw were found at the scene and handed to police.
City Power acting CEO Tshifularo Mashava praised the collaborative work by the community, the neighbourhood watch, and City Power security.
“ Cable theft is a major contributing factor to the outages we deal with daily across Johannesburg. We are glad our security strategy, which includes increasing security patrols in hotspot areas, and partnering with local communities, especially neighbourhood watch and community policing forums, is bearing fruit.
“We will intensify the fight against cable theft and vandalism, and our focus will include conducting operations at scrapyards to ensure those who buy these stolen materials are punished,” said Mashava.
Mangena said the MMC for environment infrastructure services Michael Sun has given City Power six months to reduce cable theft by at least 20%.
TimesLIVE
Cable thieves caught in the act in Roodepoort
Image: City Power
A group pretending to work for City Power has been arrested for cable theft in Roodepoort after attempting to bribe their way out of cuffs.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the six suspects had dug a 10m trench to access the cables along Cypress Road in Zonnehoewe, Roodepoort.
When security guards questioned them, they claimed to be contractors for City Power. However, they were unable to produce job cards and City Power ID cards.
“The suspects then attempted to bribe the security officers with about R5,000,” said Mangena.
Three suspects were arrested while the others fled, only to be nabbed in Peter Road and taken to the Honeydew police station.
They are facing charges related to causing damage to and tampering with essential infrastructure and attempted bribery.
A vehicle used by the suspects was impounded. Pick axes, shovels and a hacksaw were found at the scene and handed to police.
City Power acting CEO Tshifularo Mashava praised the collaborative work by the community, the neighbourhood watch, and City Power security.
“ Cable theft is a major contributing factor to the outages we deal with daily across Johannesburg. We are glad our security strategy, which includes increasing security patrols in hotspot areas, and partnering with local communities, especially neighbourhood watch and community policing forums, is bearing fruit.
“We will intensify the fight against cable theft and vandalism, and our focus will include conducting operations at scrapyards to ensure those who buy these stolen materials are punished,” said Mashava.
Mangena said the MMC for environment infrastructure services Michael Sun has given City Power six months to reduce cable theft by at least 20%.
TimesLIVE
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