Durban — A suspect was caught red-handed after he stripped a substation and took a transformer box and copper cables.
Blue Security reported that alongside Durban metro police, they recovered a transformer box and copper cable in the south of Durban on Monday.
The company said their Community Crime Prevention Unit was monitoring information about a Bluff substation robbery when, together with the Durban Metro Dog Unit, they successfully apprehended a suspect still in possession of the stolen items.
“Caught red-handed, the suspect pointed out the substation where he had stripped and taken the transformer box and copper cables. All the items were recovered in a green wheelie bin in the Bluff area. The suspect was taken to Brighton Beach SAPS,” Blue Security said.
The company added that communities had been left in the dark with the various issues related to damage to substation transformers and the continued theft of copper cables.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said that on July 3, 2022, at 4pm, police were conducting crime prevention duties when they spotted a man acting suspiciously pushing a DSW bin.
“They stopped him, searched the bin and found electrical objects. It is alleged that the suspect broke a substation on Zinto Cele Road in Brighton Beach and stole the items,” Gwala said.
“He was then arrested and charged for possession of suspected stolen goods.”
Gwala said he appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on July 4, 2022.
Daily News