NORTHERN CAPE – A 52-year-old accused will make an appearance before Springbok Regional Court. Springbok based Serious Organised Crime Investigating team served the accused with a warrant to appear in court dated, 3 December 2024.
The accused, who is a municipal worker of Namakhoi Municipality attached to their electricity directorate, is alleged to have been part of a syndicate which stole municipal copper cables and selling them at a local scrap yard.
During January 2018, police received a tip-off about Namakhoi Municipality copper cables being stolen. The team opened an enquiry for further investigation. At one stage, a branded Municipal vehicle was observed dropping off cables at the scrap yard. Investigation also revealed that municipal electricians will go as far as making a requisition for new cables for the purpose of making urgent repairs, the cables will end up at the scrapyard for sale purposes. The municipality suffered an estimated damage of R150 000 in the process.
During the investigation period, police identified two suspects, the other suspect passed on during the investigation. Information at our disposal indicates that the said employees were summarily dismissed by the municipality after an internal departmental investigation.