A multidisciplinary operation which included the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team based in Bloemfontein; Firearms, Liquor and Second-hand goods (FLASH); Telkom; Eskom; Mangaung Metro; and Transnet has led to the arrest of a 24-year-old male.
The suspect was arrested at his house in Thaba-Nchu on Wednesday, 28 June 2023.
He is due to appear in the Selosesha Magistrates` Court on 29 June 2023, on charges relating to tempering with essential infrastructure.
Officers were reacting to information about an unlicensed scrap metal business operating from the garage of a house in Zone 4, Thaba – Nchu. They descended on the said house, searched and recovered copper to an estimated value of R55 000.
The suspect was previously arrested in January 2023 in possession of copper worth about R14 000 and this separate matter is still on the court roll.
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Free State, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba says illegal scrap metal dealers may be blamed for damage to essential infrastructure which costs millions. “Damages caused by theft of copper affect communication and supply of electricity thus denying South Africans of essential services. In a multidisciplinary approach with all our relevant stakeholders, we remain resolute in removing illegal dealers, taking them out of business and cutting the demand for stolen copper”.
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