MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Thieves made off with approximately 1,6 kilometres of electrical cable worth about R350 000 on Thursday night, 28 April, from the farm, Rietvlei, adjacent to the N2 near KwaNonqaba.
On Sunday evening the vigilance of a provincial traffic official, Inspector Mbelelo Dyani, paid off when 1 309kg of electrical copper cable was found in a minibus taxi en route from Mossel Bay to Cape Town.
"I was doing a routine inspection at the weigh bridge just outside of Swellendam when I stopped the minibus taxi. I observed something covered with cloth inside the taxi. This raised my suspicion. Upon further investigation, I uncovered the copper cable and immediately asked the driver for the keys to his vehicle. The two passengers jumped out and ran away.
"The driver said he had picked up two hitchhikers along the way. He claimed he did not know the men or what they were transporting and he said he had come from Mossel Bay. I called the Swellendam police, who arrested the driver," Inspector Dyani said.
The Swellendam police have confiscated the copper cable and impounded the taxi.
The increasing incidence of cable theft and the amount stolen is a huge worry for the Mossel Bay Municipality. Since late 2015, more than 26km of cable worth approximately R2.2 million has been stolen in the Mossel Bay area.
Cable belonging to Eskom was also stolen but the exact extent of the theft is unknown.
According to police information, at least five incidents of theft of Eskom cable were reported, with up to 1.5km to 3km of cable being stolen at a time. The problem is, however, that not all cases of copper cable theft are reported.
Late in 2015, 11 kilometres of copper cable was stolen between the Hartenbos Estate and Powertown. In February and March this year another 11km was stolen along the N2 in the Great Brak River sewage works. On 19 April, in Aalwyndal, close to the Mossgas Dam, 850 metres was taken, and shortly thereafter, on 21 April, at the Sandhoogte treatment plant thieves made off with 200 metres of cable.
On 26 April approximately 3km cable was stolen from along the N2 in the region of the Rietvlei farm next to the N2. Shortly thereafter, on the Thursday, cable worth R350 000 was stolen from the same area, while in the past two weeks cable was repeatedly stolen from a pivot on the same farm.
On Monday, 2 May, fortunately, attempts at cable theft were thwarted when the electrician arrived on the scene on the Oudtshoorn road near Die Ark. In this instance the lines were cut but the criminals fled before they could remove the cable.
According to reports it seems as if the theft is the work of syndicates who work in teams; some cut and prepare the cable for transport and hide it in nearby bushes for others who collect and transport it to the larger towns and cities, such as Cape Town.
Officials say the cable is removed by perpetrators who clearly know what they are doing. "They know exactly where and what to cut, so as not to be shocked by live wires, and definitely must be using specialised tools." It seems the perpetrators scale the electricity poles and pylons without the use of ladders.
Anyone spotting people "working" on electricity pylons or poles after normal working hours should call the police. The KwaNonqaba police investigating officer, Sgt Rudi Swanepoel (082 488 0536 or 044 606 5607) request the community to share any information on the cable theft in the Rietvlei farm area.
This copper cable was confiscated in Swellendam after a provincial traffic officer pulled over a minibus taxi for a routine check. Investigations will determine whether this cable was stolen from the Rietvlei farm in the Mossel Bay area.
ARTICLE: NICKEY LE ROUX, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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