Tip-off leads to drain covers, tsotsis bust

THE City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers have arrested six men for allegedly stealing sewer drain covers.

Wayne Dyason, a spokesman for the city’s law enforcement, said the Metal Theft Unit reacted to a tip-off on Tuesday, 17 May.

He said someone told them that there were men with stolen metal drain covers who were going to sell them to a scrap metal dealer in the Wetton area.

Dyason said the officers arrived at the location and saw one suspect standing with a wheelie bin.

Sewer drain covers were recovered in two separate incidents.

“They questioned him and found another suspect, and the bin was inspected and found to contain two cast iron drain covers. Two suspects from Hanover Park were arrested and will be charged in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act.”

In a separate incident on Tuesday, officials arrested four men at the entrance to a scrap metal dealer in Philippi East. They pulled over an unlicensed vehicle and found nine sewer drain covers, 17 railway springs and one rail chair belonging to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.