Two suspected cable thieves were stopped in their tracks when they were caught by law enforcement officers on Monday.
According to mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, law enforcement received information from Neighbourhood Watch members about cable theft on Nelson Mandela Boulevard.
“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,” Smith said.
The suspects were arrested for possession of stolen goods and damage to critical infrastructure, and cut cable was seized a few metres away, Smith said.
He added that the law enforcement officers’ swift apprehension of the suspects was applauded by the mayco member for energy, Beverley van Reenen.
“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 rand 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,” Smith said.
Vandalism can anonymously be reported to the City via email: [email protected], or call 0800 1100 77 or SMS 31220. Anyone with information on crime can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 086 001 0111, or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times