A 43-year-old woman from Bethelsdorp in the Eastern Cape has been arrested after she was found in possession of copper cables worth over R600 000.
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said the copper cables, with a total weight of 2 591kg, were found inside and outside the premises. Some of the cables were identified by Transnet as belonging to them.
Eastern Cape SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu, said while the estimated scrap metal value of the copper was R168 415, the replacement value was estimated to be over R600 000.
A joint multi-disciplinary non-ferrous metal operation was conducted under Operation Vuthu Hawe.
SAPS Bethelsdorp’s designated Second Hand Goods Officer (DSO) received information of an illegal scrap yard operating in Bloem Road in Bloemendal. The information was operationalised and on Thursday, a team comprising the Nelson Mandela Bay District’s SAPS Non-Ferrous Metal officers, representatives from Transnet, Telkom, Eskom and NMB municipality swooped in on the residential property.
“The owner of the house was arrested and detained in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act and possession of suspected stolen property. She is expected to appear in court soon,” said Naidu.
Acting Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Brigadier Thandiswa Kupiso, commended the team for the excellent execution of the operation.
“Combatting non-ferrous metals and essential infrastructure related crimes must be continuous, as these crimes lead to a multitude of economic and socio-economic strains and continue to threaten key industries. The second hand goods environment is seen as a potential market for stolen goods, including the sale of non-ferrous metals. Operations such as this will be continuous and those responsible will be harshly dealt with.”
The SAPS said the threat of non-ferrous metals, as well as essential infrastructure related crimes, remains its priority.
“It is therefore crucial that multi-disciplinary disruptive operations are conducted to combat and address ferrous and non-ferrous and infrastructure related crimes.