Johannesburg - Eight people, including four City Power employees, have been arrested for the copper cable theft which left many Gautengers without water in September, Johannesburg City Power said on Friday.
“The SA Police Service and City Power are on a manhunt for other members of the syndicate, who are at large,” said spokesman Hloni Motloung.
Acting on a tip-off by a scrap dealer, City Power investigators found four of the men with 120kg of copper, worth R8435, in Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg, on Thursday, he said in a statement.
The pointed out their cable theft hot spots, took investigators to the place where they stripped the cables, and implicated four City Power employees in the thefts, said Motloung.
They claimed the employees gave them information about vulnerable areas and equipment they should target.
All eight would appear in court soon on charges of theft and damage to property. Motloung could not say which court.
In September, several parts of Gauteng were left without water when the electricity cable needed for reservoirs to pump water was stolen.
Sapa