Cape Town: Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security – Alderman JP Smith released his statement over cable theft jail term, which was a jolt in the right direction.
Last week, the City of Cape Town received good news that a cable thief was arrested by the Metal Theft Unit of the city, two years ago, and has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars. The arrest was made in Kraaifontein on November 13, 2023, where the then 55-year-old suspect was found with eight bags of Transnet cable, weighing more than 400 kilograms.
On the day in question, the Law Enforcement Metal Theft Unit received information about stolen overhead cables being stored at a property in Wallacedene. They spotted a male leaving the property in a red Opel Astra and followed him. When they stopped the vehicle along Voortrekker Road, officers found the copper cable.
Moreover, the suspect was taken to Kraaifontein SAPS and a representative from Transnet confirmed that the cables belonged to them. The haul was estimated to have a street value of R558,000. He was prosecuted in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18/2015 and sentenced in the Blue Downs Regional Court in April of this year.
The 15-year sentence is one of the most significant decision, taken as handed down in a case that stemmed from a City arrest; although, to be fair, we do not always know how the story ends, as there is no mechanism that ensures feedback on investigations and convictions, stated Smith.
He added, even in this instance, they came to hear about the matter more than two months after it concluded, but it is welcome news nonetheless and he commend everyone who had a hand in the successful conclusion of the case, starting with the Law Enforcement Officer who made the arrest.
Cable theft remains one of the biggest challenges, which is why the City of Cape Town has increased the size of the Metal Theft Unit (MTU) in recent years and expanded the use of technology like drones, infrared cameras and CCTV to broaden the reach.
Over the past 11 months, the MTU has made 126 arrests, recovered more than a kilometre of stolen cable and nearly two tons of stolen metal. The staff have completed 4,706 patrols in hotspot areas, 1,573 scrapyard compliance inspections, responded to 501 complaints from the public and issued 3,634 fines for various by-law transgressions.
Alderman JP Smith concluded his statement and said that the illicit scrap metal trade is arguably one of the biggest challenges. He said, We need greater intervention at national level to take the shine out of the trade, and we need consistently strong signals from the criminal justice system that this type of criminal activity won’t be tolerated.