EMPD

EKURHULENI EMPLOYEE AMONG THREE SUSPECTS ARRESTED FOR CABLE THEFT

Three people were arrested and a truck carrying stolen electrical cable worth about R1.2 million was confiscated in Alberton on Tuesday, 13 February 2024.

The City’s Anti-Cable Theft Task Team and private security company intercepted a truck just before it left with the cable from the city’s stores in Alberton.

“Among the three suspects is an employee who works as a clerk at Alberton stores. This makes the situation even worse because we expect our employees to protect municipal infrastructure at all times.

“Preliminary investigations show that the employee issued fraudulent documents for the release of the cable from the stores,” the city’s spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini said.

“Cable theft is a major problem for the city and we spend millions on security companies to patrol and monitor our infrastructure”, Dlamini explains, adding that a lot of money also goes towards replacing stolen cables.

The City of Ekurhuleni is losing more than R90 million per year due to cable theft.

The three will appear in court soon.

The municipal official will also face an internal disciplinary process.