Cell tower battery theft crimes in SA are growing more vicious, with two suspects reportedly killed yesterday in Durban and Limpopo respectively.
The latest cases come as South African mobile operators are increasingly bleeding money due to cases of theft and vandalism at base stations that are costing them hundreds of millions of rands.
ITWeb recently interviewed local mobile network operators about thefts at base stations, and they all said criminal syndicates are becoming more brazen and are increasingly targeting base stations, stealing or vandalising critical infrastructure like batteries, copper cables and diesel.
In Durban, security firm, the Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), said on Tuesday at approximately 01:51 members of RUSA and the Verulam SAPS Rapid Response Unit arrived on scene after security officers tasked with safeguarding the communications tower reported a shooting.
“It was established that three individuals broke into the facility which is situated in a remote part of a sugar cane plantation. They were in the process of stealing batteries when they were accosted by security officers. The suspects allegedly opened fire on the officers who returned fire and shot one of the suspects twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. The injured suspect was declared deceased on arrival of medics,” RUSA wrote on Facebook.
It added that a search was conducted for the remaining culprits who fled on foot. However, they managed to evade arrest.
Meanwhile, Sowetan reported today that a man jumped to his death while attempting to escape arrest after he and another man were seen tampering with a transformer and tower batteries in Mohokoni Village, Limpopo, on Tuesday.
The newspaper says the dead man’s companion is in hospital after running into nearby bushes while firing shots at police, who retaliated.
Two more suspects, who police believe had arrived to collect the stolen goods, were also arrested.
Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo is quoted as saying: “The police received a report from the tower patrollers in the area that there were people tampering with the transformer and tower batteries. They found two suspects dismantling the transformer and had already drained the transmission oil into a five litre container.”
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