Six suspects behind bars for alleged cable theft

Six suspects were arrested for alleged cable theft, vandalism and illegal connections in Johannesburg at the weekend.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said since Friday the entity recorded at least 20 cable theft incidents, most of them in the Moffatview policing area.

“The arrested suspects include two Zimbabweans who were arrested in Kya Sands after [allegedly] being found by our security patrollers digging copper cables in the area. Another cable theft suspect was arrested in Jeppestown while [allegedly] digging and cutting the cables.”

Police, with the help of the community, arrested three suspects for vandalism and illegal connections in the Brixton area. The suspects were allegedly connecting to the City Power network.

“The area, which includes Crosby, is plagued by vandalism and cable theft.”

The trio are suspected to be part of a group that steal City Power’s ABC cables to illegally connect to the network and then sell the illegal electricity to residents in the nearby informal settlement.

Mangena said it was a problem City Power was finding in most informal settlements.

“We will intensify the arrests with the help of the police. Vandalism of infrastructure and theft is the leading contributor to electricity supply problems in the City of Joburg and costs City Power millions in lost revenue.”

He said they were encouraged by the contribution of communities in these arrests and appealed to others to report vandalism and theft of infrastructure.

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