Durban – A man is expected to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly tampering with essential infrastructure.
The suspect, 39, was arrested by Hawks officers from Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation for allegedly tampering with essential infrastructure on Monday.
Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Warrant Officer Sibu Ncane said it was alleged that on February 22 last year, a technician from MTN was at the Plessislaer area in Pietermaritzburg, to do maintenance on a cell tower. He saw a group of suspicious-looking people on site. When he approached them, they packed up and left.
The next day, security companies in the Eshowe area spotted the vehicle. They tried to stop the vehicle but the driver sped off. They later found the vehicle abandoned on the roadside. In it were tower batteries with an estimated street value of R200 000.
A case of tampering with essential infrastructure was opened at Mountain Rise police station. The case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation.
Ncane said Hawks officers conducted an intensive investigation.
“As a result, today (Monday), a 39-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with tampering with essential infrastructure. He is expected to appear in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, August 20, 2024,” Ncane said.
In an unrelated matter, last Wednesday, Northern Cape police followed up on information regarding the theft of copper cable believed to belong to Transnet.
Northern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Cherelle Ehlers said officers from Provincial Organised Crime, Kimberley Flying Squad and Kimberley K9 Unit stopped a Nissan bakkie near Britstown. The vehicle was allegedly travelling from the Western Cape to Johannesburg.
“Six men believed to be foreign nationals, between the ages of 22 and 40 years old, were arrested for tampering with essential infrastructure.”
Ehlers said it was alleged the suspects were involved in the theft of copper cable in Leeu Gamka, Laingsburg and Worcester. The suspected stolen cable was recovered in a veld in Worcester.
“The protection and safeguarding of essential infrastructure remains a priority for law enforcement in the country. The SAPS will continue to work diligently to ensure that National Key Points and essential infrastructure are protected and perpetrators who threaten these structures are brought to book.”
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