Sasolburg SAPS and the K9 dog unit arrested six suspects who were in possession of stolen Transnet overhead copper cables valued at an estimated R750 000 on the N1 on Wednesday.
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said in a statement that the suspects had been arrested following the theft in Bethulie in the Eastern Cape, the 30th in a series of arrests for stolen Transnet copper cable over the past two weeks of November alone.
“The value of stolen copper recovered over this period is an estimated R3.4 million. The thefts are not limited to overhead copper cables but include signal cables, point machines and even rails. The brazenness of these criminals is staggering,” TFR said.
In one incident on November 16, information was followed up and two suspects were arrested in Ekandustria with a truck full of cut rail lines valued at R1m. The suspects were detained and charged with destroying and damaging essential infrastructure and for being in possession of suspected stolen property.
TFR has vowed to leave no stone unturned to ensure zero theft of its infrastructure, including where employees are involved. In another recent incident, two TFR employees were arrested after being caught with a bag of cut catenary wire. Both were arrested and are currently being detained by the SAPS in Nelspruit.
“A further two employees were dismissed and are facing criminal charges after being caught cutting electrical cables from a locomotive whilst on duty. What is encouraging is the fact that the joint efforts of Transnet, other SOCs (state-owned companies), law enforcement, the NPA and communities are translating into significant breakthroughs, and these criminals are no longer merely charged with theft but are charged for theft of ferrous or non-ferrous metal(s) forming part of essential infrastructure,” TFR said.
“This carries a far heftier sentence, as can be seen in the case where on Friday 18 November 2022 an accused that appeared in Bloemfontein Regional court was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for stealing three metres of signal cable valued at R418.23.”
During these arrests, various vehicles, trucks and equipment used to commit the crimes were confiscated and the Asset Forfeiture Unit was working to ensure the assets forfeited to the State, TFR said.
“The likelihood of suspects being arrested and successfully convicted for tampering, damaging or destroying Transnet’s infrastructure is continuously increasing, and significant work is being done to close down the illicit market,” TFR added.
The rail utility appealed to the public to assist in the fight against crime by contacting the Transnet Freight Rail Essential Infrastructure Crime hotline on 0800 8000 34 or the Crime-Stop hotline on 0860 010111 to report any suspicious activities near the rail network.
