Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officers have been applauded for their swift response which led to the arrest of 12 men in Soshanguve for tampering with a municipal power cable.
The men, according to the metro police, were found digging a trench in search of an underground electric cable which was damaged.
The officers from cable theft unit were dispatched to the scene following a complaint about a cable theft in progress at a trench in Soshanguve Extension 4 in the north of Pretoria.
TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said: “Upon arrival, they found four men busy digging in the trench. When they saw the officers, they started shooting at them and the officers returned fire. The officers managed to apprehend the four culprits and no one was injured during the shooting.”
He said more information led to the arrest of eight more suspects.
“All 12 suspects were arrested for charges of tampering and damaging essential infrastructure and possession of stolen copper. One suspect was also charged for being an illegal immigrant,”he said.
The Head of the TMPD Yolanda Faro expressed gratitude to all the officers who had been working hard for the recent successes.
Chairperson for the Section 79 oversight committee for community safety, Thabang Sebotsane, also commended the swift response from the metro police.
He said: “Working on the tip-off, the TMPD immediately deployed its cable theft unit into the area for an investigation. Upon arrival in the area, they were met with gunshots coming from the trench diggers. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and 12 suspects were arrested and will face multiple charges including illegal immigration, tampering, and damaging of essential infrastructure and possession, and discharging of unregistered firearms.”
He thanked “hardworking” officers for responding swiftly to the complaint lodged and congratulated them on the arrests and charges brought against the suspects.
“Equally, I would also like to applaud the community of Soshanguve for reporting this matter. In this I wish to instil an essence of active citizenry and encourage the residents of Tshwane to collaboratively continue working with the city to rid our communities of criminal elements that have proliferated our city and negatively impacting much needed service delivery,” said Sebotsane.
Pretoria News