A suspected cable theft syndicate struck in Kimberley on Tuesday night with municipal infrastructure being damaged and cables stolen.
A SUSPECTED cable theft syndicate struck in Kimberley during the early hours of Wednesday morning, with municipal sub-stations and infrastructure being damaged and cables stolen.
Phuthanang sub-station was one of the targets and cables worth about R600,000 were stolen.
Sol Plaatje Municipality said it will open a case of theft and malicious damage to property.
Municipal spokesperson Thoko Riet said that any further damage or tampering at the sub-station could lead to an explosion, which would cause even greater damage and make the electricity supply situation even more dire.
“It can result in the need to switch off surrounding areas for days in order to assess the damage that was done,” said Riet.
She added that the municipality is busy beefing up security at the sub-station.
“The suspects are still at large and law enforcement agencies are hard at work to find these thugs.”
The sub-station in Central Road was also targeted during the early hours of Wednesday morning, where two suspects apparently stole breakers worth R150,000.
The police arrested one of the suspects at the scene while the other suspect managed to flee.
Riet said the incident did not affect the electricity supply in the Beaconsfield area.
The municipality has opened a case of theft and malicious damage to property.
In a third incident, there was an attempted cable theft in Stamper Street on Wednesday morning.
Riet said the thieves were not able to steal any cables but they did damage the electricity box.
She said only a few houses were affected by the incident.
The incident has, however, angered residents in Stamper Street, who woke up to a power outage.
The residents blamed the municipality for failing to protect its infrastructure.
One of the residents said that the area where the electricity box is located is a hot-spot for criminals due to the lack of lighting.
The resident said they have been complaining about street lights that are not working for months, but nothing has been done.
“There is a tavern and a passage which criminals use to get away after robbing people. So the darkness is a bonus for criminals,” said the resident.
Riet said the police are searching for the suspects linked to the incidents and once again assured residents that the municipality is working on beefing up its security measures in an attempt to protect its infrastructure.
“This is unacceptable, to allow thugs to continue destroying our infrastructure. We appeal to residents to report any form of crime to their nearest law enforcement agency,” said Riet.
