Three men have been arrested by police after they were flagged down and copper cables worth about a million rand were found hidden under scrap metal in their truck.
Recounting events leading to the arrest, Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba on Friday said: “Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) task team members were doing patrols at the R513 and Brits Road when they spotted a truck carrying scrap metal with three males inside.
“The truck was stopped and searched. Underneath the scrap metal, the officers discovered bags full of suspected stolen copper cables.
“The driver and the two males could not account for the cables and mentioned that they were taking it to a big scrapyard in the plots.”
Senior Superintendent Mahamba said on further interrogation the suspects revealed that they were from another scrapyard in Cullinan.
They claimed they bought the copper cables from the people who brought them to the scrapyard in Cullinan.
“The value of the copper cables found has an estimated street value of close to R1 million,” said Senior Superintendent Mahamba.
The three suspects were arrested for possession of suspected stolen cables and will appear in court soon.
Members of the public are encouraged to report any crime to their nearest South African Police Service station or the TMPD on 012 358 7095/7096.
