PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Cable theft has been identified as one of the key contributing factors to the prolonged power outages affecting parts of Plettenberg Bay.
Bitou Municipality has meanwhile confirmed a successful multi-agency operation that led to the arrest of five suspects involved in the theft of electrical cables and the vandalism of municipal infrastructure.
Bitou Municipality says that while municipal teams were fully engaged in ongoing disaster response efforts after recent severe weather, criminal elements tried to exploit the situation by targeting critical electricity infrastructure.
According to the municipality, the Manager of Electrical Services, Jannie Fourie, has reported incidents of cable theft to the Chief of Law Enforcement and Security, Siyasanga Vandala, triggering an immediate co-ordinated response.
Municipal Law Enforcement officers and Smhart Security - responsible for monitoring surveillance systems on key municipal assets - were swiftly activated.
Surveillance technology detected suspicious activity at the Kurland sports field, where a man was observed stripping electrical cables.
A joint operation involving Municipal Law Enforcement, Smhart Security, the police and members of the local community led to the immediate arrest of the suspect on site.
Further arrests
After this arrest, information was circulated through social media channels, which assisted in generating further leads.
This resulted in the apprehension of four additional suspects believed to be linked to cable theft and damage to municipal infrastructure in the area.
In total, five suspects have been arrested and are currently detained at Plettenberg Bay Police Station. They are expected to appear in court soon. The municipality confirmed that most of the stolen electrical material has been recovered.
Law enforcement officials say the incident highlights the effectiveness of integrated security measures, including surveillance systems and co-ordinated inter-agency response.
Chief of Law Enforcement Siyasanga Vandala stressed that crime prevention is a shared responsibility and emphasised ongoing safety forum engagements aimed at strengthening intelligence sharing and proactive policing.
Harkerville arrests
In a separate but related incident, the PBCPA reported the arrest of four suspects in Harkerville, where an off-duty law enforcement officer chased down suspects near Sasol Harkerville. Quick response from the police led to their arrest and recovery of stolen copper cable.
A request for comment has been sent to the police, but nothing has been received at the time of going to press.
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