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TWO FORMER Transnet employees in Kimberley were both sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for stealing copper from locomotives.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock said on Tuesday that Tumelo Mokupi, 36, and Lefu Tsiu, 40, were both found guilty by the Kimberley Regional Court of tampering with essential infrastructure.
Kock said the duo were arrested on February 17, 2020 by the Provincial Organised Crime unit while they were busy with investigations at a local scrap metal dealer in Kimberley.
“They spotted a suspicious Volkswagen Polo with two male occupants, who sped off. The police managed to stop them close to Kimberley police station and searched the boot. They found 58 copper plates that were stolen from locomotives at Transnet.”
Kock added that the two men were arrested, while the Volkswagen Polo was confiscated as it was used in the commission of a crime.
The provincial head for Organised Crime Detectives, Brigadier Johan Myburgh, commended Warrant Officer Henk van der Merwe for his “meticulous investigation that led to this outstanding sentence”.