PE cellphone tower thieves nabbed

Two alleged thieves were arrested in Motherwell after stealing several metres of copper wire and two batteries.

The incident happened in Chief Poto Street at about 9.30pm on Monday.  The two alleged robbers were behind bars by 8.30am on Tuesday.

Officials say that the estimate value of stolen goods was about R45,000, while the damage is close to a million rand.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said that the two men, armed with a firearm, allegedly held the security guard at gunpoint during the robbery.

“The guard was forced to comply and watched as the two robbers stripped the cables and batteries from the tower. By 3.30am the suspects both fled leaving the security guard onsite,” he said.

“The company arrived later to do a change of shift which is when the guard reported the robbery.”

Beetge said that the police were alerted and began investigations.

“By 8.30am, detectives had already tracked down the culprits to a house in Mkhombe Street – about 1.5km away from the tower,” he said.

“Police raided the house and found all the stolen goods as well the implements used to cut the wires.”

Beetge said that both were arrested for possession of stolen goods, robbery and theft.

Both men are due to appear in the Motherwell Magistrate's Court on Thursday.