Staff Reporter
A 37-year-old Zimbabwean man has appeared in the Smithfield Magistrates Court after being found in possession of suspected stolen property.
Aaron Mukutirwa made his first appearance on Thursday before the matter was postponed to July 15 for further investigation.
He was found with about 159kg of communication cables worth about R200 000.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said in a statement the suspect was arrested after an off-duty police officer raised alarm when he heard some noise outside his house at about 1am on Thursday.
“A white Colt bakkie was seen loaded with cable and suspects were still busy cutting some more,” said Mbambo.
“Five men including the driver were seen cutting the cables from the poles and the off-duty cop alerted the Community Service Centre,” she added.
When police spotted the vehicle they tried stopping it but it drove off at high speed and they gave chase.
The vehicle eventually stopped and the suspects vanished into the dark.
The police however managed to arrest one suspect.
The police are still looking for the other four suspects.
Meanwhile, another foreigner, whose nationality has not been revealed, was arrested on the N3 highway during a crime prevention roadblock conducted on Thursday.
Members of the Welkom K9 unit stopped a white Polo Vivo travelling from Johannesburg towards Durban.
They then searched the vehicle and found two large bags containing 60 000 empty capsule containers.
A further search led to the discovery of eight 1kg plastic bags containing heroine with an estimated street value of R3 million.
The 38-year-old suspect was immediately arrested and is expected to appear before the Harrismith Magistrates Court soon facing charges of dealing in drugs.
The case will be investigated by the Hawks going further.