Three suspects arrested in seperate incidents for cable theft in Cape Town

One suspect has been arrested, while two others are still on the run after the trio were caught digging up cables in Parow.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety & Security, JP Smith, said officers were dispatched on Sunday, to Fransie Van Zyl Street by the Metro Police CCTV operators who noticed three suspects digging up cables.

‘’On arrival, the suspects fled the scene with the officers in pursuit. One of the suspects injured himself during his getaway and he was arrested for cable theft and malicious damage to property. He was taken to Karl Bremer Hospital for medical assistance and later detained at Parow police station. ‘’

Smith added that officers confiscated two spades, a hammer, a box cutter, a hack saw blade and a spanner.

Meanwhile, two suspects were arrested on Monday, for being in possession of stolen goods and damage to critical infrastructure, after several meters of cut cable was seized.

Smith said that Law Enforcement officers received information from neighbourhood watch members of cable theft occurring on Nelson Mandela Blvd.

PICTURE; Facebook - JP Smith

‘’Due to the area being easily accessible and having come under much attack over recent months, several vehicles responded and managed to block off the escape route of the perpetrators,’’ JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety & Security.

Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Beverley Van Reenen applauded the City’s Law Enforcement for their swift apprehension of those who were caught in the act, stealing and damaging City electricity infrastructure.

‘’Theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure continue to pose a significant risk to the integrity of our network and reliability of power supply. The City has invested millions of rands in establishing a dedicated Energy Law Enforcement Safety Team to patrol and protect our infrastructure and staff from criminals. Every apprehension means one less cable thief on the streets. We ask communities to help us in our fight by reporting suspected infrastructure crimes immediately,’’ she said.

Done By: Alungile Njemla