Pietermaritzburg - One of the men alleged to be part of a syndicate responsible for copper theft around the province was denied bail in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The syndicate is alleged to have been involved in the theft of copper cables and conductors from Transnet and Eskom.
Lindinkosi Xulu, one of 26 men arrested in connection with the syndicate, made his second application for bail last month.
He was previously denied bail in 2012, but brought a second fresh application on new facts.
These facts included that he had been in custody since his arrest in July 2012, and is only charged in connection with two incidents that comprise six charges on the indictment. These include theft, racketeering, money laundering and malicious damage to property.
The indictment reflects 189 charges in total.
Xulu also revealed that he suffered from arthritis and had been diagnosed HIV-positive.
The State opposed Xulu’s application, and in an affidavit to the court, investigating officer James Patrick submitted that the accused had been arrested during an undercover operation named “Nuclear”, involving the Hawks and privately-owned Combined Private Investigations.
Operation Nuclear tackled an alleged big cable syndicate in two dramatic busts in September 2012, and in November last year. The State took 18 months to finalise its investigation, owing to the sheer size of the case.
The copper cables Xulu is alleged to have stolen from Transnet cost about R388 000.
Denying Xulu bail, Magistrate Reard Abrahams found Xulu had not brought the bail application on new facts. His arthritis and another problem were pre-existing conditions that should have been raised at his initial bail application.
The magistrate explained that while Xulu had been in custody for more than two years awaiting trial, it was reasonable to expect that the State needed time to investigate a case of this magnitude.
The syndicate’s case has been adjourned to December 12.
Daily News