JOHANNESBURG – Two men were caught red-handed and later arrested for allegedly vandalising a substation and plunging some parts of Roodepoort into darkness.
Apparently power was out for about 12 hours due the vandalism caused by the men.
Spokesperson for City Power, Isaac Mangena said after the power went out, security officers went to the area to find out what the problem was and that’s when they came across the men.
He said it was found that they had cut the locks of the Florida substation to gain entry into the chamber.
Mangena said that the men had cut and stolen cables, which lead to the power outage.
“They were found with steel-cutting equipment and other tools, including saws.
“Three padlocks that had already been cut were also found in their possession.
“The two suspects were handed over to the police where a case of vandalism and theft of essential infrastructure has been opened,” he said.
Mangena said a number of areas, including Florida and Roodepoort, had recently been plagued by outages due to vandalism and theft of copper.
He said this week Fleurhof, Witpoortjie and Discovery – areas not far from where the suspects were arrested – had been affected by the crime, and City Power has asked police to investigate whether the two men were involved.
“We appeal to the justice cluster to ensure the punishment of those found guilty of vandalism and theft of essential infrastructure fits the crime, and serves as a deterrent to other criminals.
“Residents should report any suspicious movement around our infrastructure to our Security Risk Control on 011 490 7900/7911 or to the nearest SAPS 10111,” said Mangena.
IOL