Suspects arrested for copper theft

The Kimberley Cluster Detectives, Kimberley SAPS Detectives and Northern Cape Firearms, Liquor and Second Hand Goods(FLASH) unit arrested two men for possession of suspected stolen copper on Monday, 26 August 2013. Information about a silver Opel Corsa from the North West Province travelling with the stolen copper was received and immediately responded to by the mentioned units. The police visited a scrap metal dealer, to whom the copper was sold to at approximately 11:00am. The men were arrested at the Shell Ultra Petrol Station on the N12 north minutes later and were linked positively with the ID copies and particulars they left at the scrap metal dealer, as required by the Second Hand Goods Act 6 of 2000. The copper weighs approximately 100kg and has a street value of almost R75 000,00. The copper was confiscated by the police from the scrap metal dealer who allegedly paid the suspects R6 900,00 for the suspected stolen goods. “The commander of the sting operation, Col Avril Wentzel(Head of Kimberley Cluster Detectives) mentioned that the police will continue with operations linking to copper theft. Daily routine visits to scrap metal dealers are conducted together with inspections to confirm compliance with regard to their licence conditions.” The suspects aged 34 and 29 year old are from Taung and will be appearing before the Kimberley Magistrates’ Court soon. The investigation continues. This statement was issued by SAPS