Twenty-four members of various cable-theft syndicates have been sentenced to a total collective sentence of 420 years’ imprisonment by the Kroonstad Regional Court, Spoornet said on Thursday.
The syndicate members were convicted on 76 charges and received individual sentences ranging from three to 80 years’ imprisonment.
Spokesperson Molatwana Likhethe said Spoornet’s initiative of curbing cable theft has received a major boost by the success of the cases.
”The convictions are a result of a highly professional investigation conducted by combined private investigations in close cooperation with the police and the National Prosecution Authority,” he said. ”Spoornet loses millions of rands each year to such syndicates. Cable theft alone amounted to some R5,5-million last year.”
Likhethe said these crimes hurt not only Spoornet and its customers, but also South Africa as a whole. Cable theft sometimes results in consignments failing to reach their international destinations on time, which affects the country’s reputation. ”Overseas markets view us as unreliable and inefficient.”
He said the seriousness of cable and conductor theft has been emphasised by the court, which made it clear that conductor theft cannot be considered as petty theft, and that the effects the crime has on service delivery and the economy need to be taken into account when considering sentence.
Spoornet is working towards the total eradication of cable theft using new technology. It involves replacing overhead copper wire cables with tiger wire, which has a lesser sale value.
However, in the meantime Spoornet faces the challenge of securing about 23 000km of rail track with limited security resources.
Likhethe said Spoornet would continue to work with the criminal justice system and the police on cable theft. — Sapa