POLICE NAB THREE SUSPECTS INCLUDING AN EMPLOYEE OF SUB-CONTRACTOR AT ESKOM FOR TAMPERING WITH ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
POLOKWANE: A 31 year-old male suspect who is an employee at Info-Tech maintenance company at Medupi and Matimba Power Plants and his two accomplices aged 31 and 47 are expected to appear before the Lephalale Magistrate Court on Monday 19 June 2023 facing charges of tampering with essential infrastructure at Medupi Power Station.
Police received a complaint about theft of Eskom copper cables worth more than one hundred and fifty thousand of Rands at the Power Plant on Tuesday 13 June 2023. On Wednesday 14 June 2023, the Police started with the initial investigations together with Eskom Security Team.
A joint intelligence driven operation was conducted and Eskom Security Team managed to locate the stolen properties that were concealed in the bushes inside the power plant .
The investigation team set up a trap to with a view to arrest the thieves who were expected to come back for collection of the copper cables .
According to Police report, four suspects indeed arrived on foot at the Power Plant to collect the cables on Wednesday 2023-06-14 at about 23:00 and upon discovering that they were being observed, they evaded an arrest by running in different directions and disappeared in the bushes.
A manhunt for the those suspects was activated in the premises until Police managed come across one of the suspects next to the railway line driving a Kia Picanto motor vehicle , they tried to stop him but he sped off. A car chase ensued until the motor vehicle was cornered and he was immediately placed under arrest.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect who is working under a maintenance sub contractor at Medupi and Matimba Power Plants was trying to flee the scene with the motor vehicle that was intended to transport the stolen copper cables out of the Power Plant.
The a 31 year-old suspect subsequently cooperated with the team and he left with the police to an informal Settlement that was situated a few kilometers outside the Power Plant where two more suspects were apprehended at their residences at about 01:50 on Thursday 2023-06-15.
The fourth suspect was not found at the informal settlement and a manhunt have since been launched .
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe applauded the teams for their collaborative effort that yielded positive results, further calling upon community to provide information on the suspect on the run
Anyone with information that can assist with his apprehension should urgently contact the Investigating Officer Sergeant Nndwamato Mambo on 079 765 8761 or crime stop number 0860010111 or nearest police or MySAPSApp.
Police investigations are continuing.
