Laudium was the scene of a crime that has been described as a massive well-planned and well-orchestrated scheme, by a well organised syndicate to steal five large electrical generators.
However, vigilant members of the community acted swiftly and outsmarted the syndicate from carrying out their devious plan. Thus there was much praise from various quarters, including from the Tshwane Mayor, for members of the Laudium community, in acting swiftly and whose actions stopped the theft and transporting of the huge generators worth at least R35 million, from the Claudius electricity sub-station at the corner of Cuprene Str and 2nd Ave, in Laudium. While many individuals played a part in stopping the thieves in their tracks, special mention should be made of two persons who acted swiftly in ensuring that the criminals were stopped and arrested, this being Ahmed Ismail (Hassim) an Exco member of the Laudium Disaster Management (LDM) and Shaheen Wahab, the chairperson of the Laudium Community Police Forum (CPF).
The morning of this past Wednesday (Nov 27) started as normal for Ahmed who was driving past when he noticed the many huge trucks at the sub-station. Ahmed explained further to the Laudium Sun, “After noticing these trucks, what actually made me stop at the sub-station was that this one truck had a huge crane attached to it. To tell you the truth I am fascinated with cranes and that made me stop to take a closer look at the crane. However, after taking a walk and while looking closer at the crane, I could sense that some of the workers were not very pleased to see me and then when they were loading another of the huge transformers onto a truck, I just got the sense that everything was not okay, more so as I thought that if the Council was upgrading the sub-station there should have been members of the media or even the community present to welcome the move. I then went back into my car and immediately texted Cllr Patel who I knew was gone overseas, congratulating him for getting the Council to upgrade the old transformers to new ones, just in order to see if my gut feeling was right or wrong. Naeem replied by saying that he did not know anything about it and told me to contact Paul from his office. However, when I called Paul he apparently could not hear me as he was at some function, so then I quickly called my cousin, Ibraheem Dockrat, the chair of the LDM to contact Paul urgently and told him about my suspicion.” Ibraheem told the Laudium Sun, “When Ahmed contacted me telling me to call Paul as he could not hear him, I knew Paul would not respond to him as Naeem made it very clear to Paul that he should only listen to Shaheen from the CPF and myself. So when I called Paul he immediately answered his phone and I then told him to go urgently to the sub-station site and investigate what the activity there was about.” It is believed that Paul then went to the site with one of the CPF members, Samuel Masemola. Samuel then immediately called Shaheen Wahab, who told the Laudium Sun, “After receiving a call from Samuel, I then called Paul to see if the Regional Director for Electricity knew anything about removing transformers and they knew nothing. Then I spoke to Samuel again, and he had some of the people involved in removing the transformers on speaker phone with me. I asked them if they had a City of Tshwane job card, and they said that they did not have and said that they were working for a transporting company. My instincts said there’s something off about this and I immediately told Samuel and Paul to close the gates of the sub-station, which proved vital for the arrests and stopping the remaining trucks from leaving.
Meanwhile, I left my business meeting halfway and got into my car to rush to the scene. While on my way, I called Inspector Tapala, one of the senior members from TMPD Cable theft unit, and he said he would immediately send a unit out. I called the inspector again to advise him to send more members and vehicles as Samuel indicated there were about 50 suspects at the scene. During all this time, one truck managed to go out, but the TMPD caught them on time as they were pulling out of the sub-station. I called our local SAPS as well, and they were on the scene within minutes to assist the TMPD. When I reached the scene some of my CPF members who also got there already blocked off the area. I then interacted with the TMPD and the investigating officer on the scene, but I was still uneasy and decided to escalate the matter. I personally spoke to the Tshwane Mayor, and she said she was going to come to the sub-station. I also called the District Commissioner Major General Tini, and he said he would send the District team. I met the Mayor and MMC for Safety on their arrival, and both were very grateful for the action we as a CPF took. Colonel Pillay from the District forensics team was also at the scene. Once all statements were done, TMPD Brigadier Nkuna asked if the CPF members could assist with safe guarding the substation until all the vehicles involved were taken to impound yard. At least 30 CPF Patrollers, Khans Tactical, SAPS, TMPD, and a few members from LDM assisted with the escorts of the vehicles to the impound center.
Thereafter, they returned to the sub-station till the early hours of the morning to do visibility patrols and left the scene at about 3am.” Tshwane Police Communication co-ordinator Johan Van Dyk told the Laudium Sun that the police stationed at Laudium were called to attend to a case involving the tampering with essential infrastructure and the theft of cables at the Cuprene Street sub-station. He said the police found trucks and cranes on the premises, including a City of Tshwane (COT)- branded truck. A 40-ton low-bed truck was also observed leaving the premises with a transformer already loaded onto it. When the truck and crane operators were approached, they stated that they had been hired to remove and transport the transformers to Middelburg, Mpumalanga. They also confirmed that they were employed by a private transport company. Further inquiries revealed that a COT Electricity Department official, who was present on-site with a COT vehicle, had personally made unauthorized arrangements with a private party to remove the transformers. Phiri Phiri Security personnel, responsible for guarding the premises, confirmed that the City official had brought the trucks and cranes onto the premises to facilitate the removal. It was further established that the private company had visited the site on a previous day in the presence of the same City official.
Investigations are ongoing to determine what else may have been removed” Van dyk said. Van dyk added that the transformers, valued at approximately R35 million, were tampered with and removed, causing an additional estimated R5 million in damages. A case of tampering with essential infrastructure and theft has been opened. A total of 11 suspects were arrested in connection with the incident. Items confiscated include 4 low bed trucks, 50-tonne crane trucks, Nissan UD 20-tonne truck, 2 Suzuki carry bakkies, a Mahindra bakkie and a VW Caddy bakkie