Five suspects have been arrested for tampering with essential infrastructure.
In a statement on Tuesday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said the five were arrested in two separate incidents.
In the first incident, a 48-year-old man was arrested for tampering with essential infrastructure, distribution of critical infrastructure and theft of copper and electrical feeder cables.
The suspect was arrested during a joint operation to address theft and damages of critical infrastructure in the rail environment by a multidisciplinary team consisting of members from the SAPS and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
The suspect was found in possession of feeder cables worth a market value of R380 000 as well as copper cables worth a market value of R150 000.
A bakkie and tools that were allegedly used in the commission of the crime were also siezed.
The suspect has been detained at the Hercules police station and will appear before the Pretoria Magistrates Court soon.
In another incident, a team in Germiston responded to reports that unknown persons were tampering with essential infrastructure.
The team followed up on information and found four men in possession of copper cables worth a market value of R14 483.
Tools that were utilised in the commission of the crimes were also seized.
The four suspects have been detained at the Germiston police station and will appear before the Germiston Magistrates Court.
“Communities are warned against the tampering of essential infrastructure as this often leads to thousands of commuters stranded and in some cases may cause loss of life due to train collusion and derailment,” said the SAPS.
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