Seven arrested in clampdown on battery theft

Tower batteries

Tower batteries

by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) SEVEN individuals have been arrested in a crackdown against the rampant theft of batteries at base stations in South Africa in recent days.

Among those arrested is a suspect found in possession of 32 batteries at the Beit Bridge point of entry. His vehicle was impounded.

In another successful operation in Greytown in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), three suspects were apprehended after a tip-off while they were still inside the perimeter of the base station.

Two vehicles with false licence plates were recovered at the scene.

The tools the suspects used to break in were confiscated.

In total 55 batteries were recovered, and four vehicles with tools were confiscated in a series of operations across the country.

A total of 16 MTN batteries were subsequently recovered.

“We are encouraged with the breakthrough we are making in the fight against vandalism and the theft of telecommunications infrastructure,” Ernest Paul, MTN General Manager: Network Operations, said.

“All the hard work is finally yielding results. MTN will continue to
collaborate with other telco companies to completely clamp down on the scourge of battery theft, which is costing mobile network operators millions of rands and depriving consumers access to communication services.”

MTN thanked members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) for the arrests.

– CAJ News

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