State-owned utility Eskom says three suspects have been arrested by members of the South African Police Service (Saps), in Pretoria, in connection with the theft of drums of cable belonging to Eskom. 

The arrests follow an armed robbery incident that occurred at the Wolmaransstad Customer Network Centre (CNC), in Klerksdorp, on October 7.

Eskom notes that, during the incident, unknown armed suspects entered the CNC and loaded 16 drums of Eskom cable, valued at about R1.1-million onto two trucks and fled the scene.

Eskom says the three suspects appeared in the Wolmaransstad Magistrate Court on October 30. The trucks used in the crime have been confiscated from their owner and will be presented as evidence.

“Eskom commends the tireless and exceptional investigative work by the Saps Head Office Detective team, which led to the arrests of the suspects.

“We hope the suspects face the full might of the law and believe the three suspects may be linked to several other similar armed robbery incidents committed recently at other Eskom CNCs. We are committed to safeguarding the security and integrity of our critical infrastructure,” the utility says.

Eskom adds that the ongoing collaboration between its internal security investigations team and law enforcement agencies, coordinated by the National Energy Crisis Committee’s Safety and Security Priority Committee, continues to yield significant positive results in the utility’s efforts to combat crime and corruption.

“Eskom remains steadfast in its stance against criminal activities and urges members of the public to report any information related to unlawful activities, including armed robberies; illegal electricity sales; fraud; the theft of coal, fuel oil and diesel; and critical and essential infrastructure crimes.”

Reports can be made anonymously through the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 11 27 22 or through WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.