Two men were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the Heidelberg Magistrate’s Court for theft and smelting of stolen Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) copper cables and assets worth R2.6 million.
The two were arrested in February 2020, after Prasa area security commander was alerted of the theft of electrical overhead cables in the Benoni area near Modderbee Correctional Services, the rail agency said.
The team was then alerted about a smelting house in Ratanda, Heidelberg, where the stolen assets were sold and smelted.
The Prasa Infrastructure Protection Task Team in the East Region swooped on the house and discovered illegal activities, including the smelting of copper cables belonging to Prasa by three male suspects. Copper cables and electrical equipment worth R2.6m were found and recovered from the house.
“This conviction sends a strong message to criminals and must be viewed as a major positive step in the direction of Prasa’s efforts to turn the tide against the theft and vandalism of essential infrastructure,” said Prasa acting group CEO, Hishaam Emeran.
“We are emboldened and take courage in the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No.18 of 2015) that came into effect in 2016. The Act deals with any person that “tampers with, damages or destroys essential infrastructure and elevates the seriousness of theft and/or damage of public infrastructure,” he said.
Emeran praised Prasa’s Protection Services, the National Prosecuting Authority and other law enforcement agencies in securing the convictions.
“Though the theft of rail infrastructure is still a reality, the efficiency of the justice system in dealing with this scourge is also commendable, and we are confident that the police will find the main suspect and ensure that he is brought to book,” Emeran said.
The third suspect, who is the owner of the house, was still at large.
On February 8, 2020, Transport Minster Fikile Mbalula visited the house and described it as a ‘house of crime, a factory of crime’ and called for copper cable criminals to be charged with economic sabotage.
At the time Mbalula told television news, eNCA that the copper was melted, packaged and shipped to Mozambique and India.
-IOL
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