R10bn copper theft a year

Organised crime syndicates targeting SA’s transport and telephone systems

WITH the international price of copper trading around R73 a kilogram, organised crime syndicates are setting their sights on the country’s transport and telecoms systems, stripping them of copper and costing the economy around R10 billion a year.

Martin Ewi, a security expert at the Institute for Security Studies, said organised crime required immediate attention because of the impact on the economy.

“However, the sources of organised crime and its perpetrators are highly contested. Accurate police and court data is needed to understand organised crime and who is committing it,” he said.

Wayne Dyason, a law enforcement inspector at the City of Cape Town, said: “Copper affects the economy negatively. It has an effect on our transport systems, telecoms systems and indirectly affects every aspect of our economy. Huge amounts of money are made by the thieves, and even more lost to the economy because of its debilitating effect on business.”

Even though harsher sentences and fines are being imposed for people found guilty of stealing copper and electrical infrastructure of trains, thieves have become more brazen and have even been stealing in broad daylight.

At the weekend, a 27-year-old man was electrocuted after he allegedly tried to steal copper wire that was illegally connected to a city light pole. Four suspects were also recently arrested after they allegedly stole property along a train line, belonging to Prasa. Thirteen pieces of mast poles weighing 660kg, with a value of R18 000, were confiscated from them. They were arrested at Bofors Circle in Epping.

Last week, the City’s Metal Theft Unit and SAPS’s provincial second-hand goods officers responded to information about a container that was found loaded with stolen copper. “According to informants, the container was hidden in a warehouse in Montague Gardens. The exact location was not disclosed.

“An inspection was conducted on various premises in the general area where the container could be. This was done with the authorisation of the business owners whose premises were searched. At one of the premises in Montague Gardens a container that was still on a trailer was found.

“During a preliminary investigation, it was established that the container and trailer were stolen earlier in the week from the property of one of the local scrap metal companies. The copper weighed in excess of 26 tons, with a value of close to R2 million. No arrests have been made yet, but the investigation continues,” Dyason said.

DESPITE HARSHER PENALTIES, COPPER THIEVES HAVE EVEN BEEN STEALING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT