Copper kingpin in court
HAVING been labelled a kingpin of copper theft, Wiseman Nsele (38) will tomorrow (Friday) appear in the Nyoni Magistrate’s Court.
Police believe Nsele has been involved in a number of copper theft cases in the province after he was found on Sunday in possession of a whopping 1 240 kilograms of copper, with an approximate street value of R64 000.
Following his first appearance on Monday, Nsele is expected to apply for bail tomorrow as he faces charges of being in possession of property suspected to be stolen.
This follows his arrest in which eShowe Crime Intelligence and Empangeni K9 Unit, working on information, made the bust on Sunday morning during an intelligence driven operation conducted at the Ogocini area in Nyoni.
According to police, a homestead fitting the same description given to them, was identified and searched.
The copper cables were found and Nsele was arrested and charged accordingly, after he could not give a satisfactory explanation about how he obtained the goods.
The ZO previously reported that Telkom, Eskom and Transnet - along with municipalities - are the chief targets of the multibillionrand copper thieving industry.
Particularly vulnerable is Eskom, who, according to its Annual Financial Statement Report released last month, had a non-technical revenue loss, owing to copper theft, of R1.4-billion in the past financial year.