17 suspects arrested in various parts of the country, for theft of Transnet infrastructure, are expected to appear in court soon.
One was arrested trying to cut a seal on a wagon carrying vehicles, in Ladysmith, while another tried to steal a spare wheel and accessories.
Five suspects were arrested for stealing copper cables valued at R60K at Bloemhof-Hoopstad, North-West on the N12, by the police.
A driver was arrested near the Hugenot Tunnel, while his passengers fled the scene. Officers recovered a significant amount of burnt Coax Copper Cable in the vehicle, which weighed about 300kg.
At nearby Bellville, Transnet security personnel caught a suspect tampering with essential infrastructure shortly after midnight. They contacted the Rapid Rail Police Unit (RRPU) and the suspect was arrested.
Five suspects in Gqeberha, on four different locomotives, were arrested and taken to the Swartkops police station.
Michelle Phillips,Transnet Group Chief Executive, has applauded stakeholders for these arrests,“these arrests demonstrate our strong resolve in curbing the prevalence of vandalism and essential infrastructure theft within our network. It is also indicative that our focused approach towards enhancing our stakeholder collaboration and holding our security service providers to a higher performance standard, is beginning to yield positive results.”
Stakeholders are the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) Workstream 7, SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), State Security Agency (SSA), Eskom, Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (PRASA), and other state entities including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.