About 21 people were arrested for stealing copper bus bars, transformers, electrical switches, copper cables and electrical cables, valued at about R350 000.
They were arrested on the 01 September 2025 by the police, at a Transnet depot in Swartkops, Gqeberha.
Transnet said on Thursday, this is the second arrest in a week. On Wednesday, the 3 September 2025, police recovered copper cables worth an estimated R3 million, at an unregistered scrapyard in De Deur, Gauteng and arrested five suspects.
The five suspects are expected to appear before the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court, on charges of possession of stolen infrastructure, dealing with second hands goods without a license and contravening the Immigration Act.
Michelle Phillips, Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnet, said “our work is beginning to make serious inroads in dismantling the destructive criminal syndicates targeting essential infrastructure. We will continue to focus on fighting crimes which are responsible for the destruction of our essential infrastructure.”