A truck driver and his passenger have been arrested by the police in Villiers for being in possession of stolen cell tower batteries.
It is alleged that on Wednesday, 17 February 2021 at about 09:36, the police received information about a truck driving on the N3 towards Villiers transporting stolen cell tower batteries.
The members followed up on the information and a truck matching the description was spotted on the N3 direction towards Gauteng Province.
The police together with traffic and supported by other strategic partners managed to stop the truck.
There were two male occupants in the truck and they granted the police permission to search the truck.
During the search, the police recovered 39 cell tower batteries of different networks to the value of R886 800-00. The two suspects aged 34 and 35 could not provide the police with a satisfactory answer or documentation on why they were in possession of the batteries.
The suspects were arrested and detained and will appeared at the Villiers Magistrate court where their case was postponed for bail hearing.
“Theft of cell tower batteries affects our economy negatively as it disrupt communication being a vital part of our daily business engagements,” said the Provincial Commissioner, Lt General Baile Motswenyane.
“We commend collaboration between various stakeholders such as MTN and Vodacom Tactical teams, Bidvest Protea coin and E2 Project in support of all law enforcement agencies in dealing with these type of operations,” concluded the Provincial Commissioner.
Durban truck driver and passenger arrested for possession of stolen cell tower batteries https://t.co/eE1YNtvUrc pic.twitter.com/XG7YT6TFte
— SA Trucker (@rsa_trucker) February 20, 2021
