A man, who was caught red-handed stealing overhead railway cables, will spend the next 15 years behind bars.
Police Spokesperson Andre Traut says the 33-year-old Abrahams Isgak Terblanche stole cables near the Heideveld train station in March this year.
He was arrested shortly after 11 others, who are still awaiting trial, were also caught in the act.
Terblanche was injured when he was cutting a live cable and was arrested when police followed several leads to track him down.
He was convicted and received a 15-year sentence for the theft of non-ferrous metal and received a further 15 years for causing damage to essential infrastructure of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). The sentences will run concurrently.
Police ecouraged the community to report any criminal activity as cable theft and damages caused to the railway infrastructure are serious crimes with detrimental effects to our public transport system.
The Crime Stop number is: 08600 10111
- African News Agency (ANA),
