Cape Town - A group of 11 suspects appeared in the Queenstown Magistrate’s Court on charges of copper cable theft.
The group of suspects, aged between 25 and 50 years old, were arrested on Friday, April 22, in a joint operation by the Tylden Crime Prevention and detectives unit, Queenstown Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) team and Queenstown based Serious Organised Crime Investigation(SOCI) team of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).
Skhumbuzo Nongobo, 40, .Sicelo Mkhize, 34, Siyabulela Sandokela, 38, Abongile Mahlwempu, 35, Anathi Ngwane, 28, Nkosiphendule Mangathi, 42, Luyolo Sijaka, 40, Bulelani Calana, 35, Bongani Mangathi, 46, Abongile Mazwi, 35, and Sivuyile Mangathi, 23, will be applying for bail.
According to the provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, on the day of the arrests, at about 7.30am, officers from Tylden police station spotted unknown men on the gravel road near the railway station in the area.
“They are alleged to have been stopped on their way by the police bakkie and could not give a satisfactory answer about their existence in the place. Other units like LCRC, Queenstown SOCI team and detectives were summoned.
“The suspects are reported to have been taken to the police station for further questioning, where it is alleged to have transpired that they were from Johannesburg and had come to steal copper.
“They are further reported to have shown the police officer loads and loads of copper cables they have already cut and even showed the two bolt cutters they have used to cut the copper cables,” Mgolodela said.
Two police vehicles loaded the copper from the Tylden Railway Station, which weighed 2 848kg with a street value of more than R850 000.
Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, praised the team for the positive outcome of their case.
Ngwenya said the suspects should be dealt with accordingly as this conduct has now become a trend and a norm in the area.
The group is expected back in the same court on Friday for their bail application.