Cape Town - The City has issued a strong warning to those attempting to commit cable theft after three suspects hiding in a trench were caught in broad daylight attempting to steal street light cables along the M5 highway.
Safety and security mayco member JP Smith said vigilant officers noticed suspicious activity under the bridge leading to Kenilworth on Monday and on investigating, the suspects were found in a trench where they were digging up the recently replaced cabling for street lights.
“The suspects, upon catching sight of the approaching officers, abandoned their tools and fled.
“Officers chased after the suspects and managed to apprehend all three of them. Sadly, the cabling had already been cut and a large section removed,” he said.
The three suspects were arrested by the Metal Theft Unit and charged at Wynberg police station with theft and damage to critical infrastructure, Smith said.
Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for the City’s Law Enforcement, said several outstanding theft and vandalism cases still needed to be attended to.
“Unfortunately, the list has been growing faster than what service contractors can attend to,” he said.
According to Dyason, a separate incident of cable theft under the Racecourse Road bridge running over the M5 occurred on May 9. He said that area officers spotted the trenches and cables removed, but the suspects had already left.
“The area officers then monitored this area and on May 13, three male suspects were caught red-handed, removing cables,” he said.
“They were arrested and the investigating officer will see if these suspects can be linked to the first incident as well. The constant theft of cables also results in black spots in areas where the lights are off due to cable theft.
“This could create an environment for opportunistic muggings of pedestrians and also results in risky driving conditions for motorists.”
The police referred a request for comment back to the City. They confirmed they had effected the arrest.
The City has recovered more than 1700kg of stolen metal in nine months between July 2023 and March. More than 53000m of stolen cabling was recovered over this period, with the unit also making 115 arrests, including securing a 12-year prison sentence for a metal thief.
Smith said that under the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, a minimum prison sentence of three to 30 years is prescribed.
“Hands off our copper cable! We will catch you,” he said.