Police arrested a scrap metal dealer and confiscated 120kg of copper at his premises in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape on Monday.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said visible policing members acted on information about a scrap metal dealer who was alleged to be illegally trading in copper in Makhanda.
Nkohli said the 59-year-old dealer is due to appear in the Makhanda magistrate’s court soon on a charge of theft. “Their apprehension comes after an employee, Vernon Michael van der Mescht, 56, was arrested last month at their business premises where a truck loaded with copper blisters [valued at R4.6m] was impounded by authorities during a multidisciplinary operation in Randfontein,” said spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
The arrests came after the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Krugersdorp received intelligence that P&P Commodities was back in business.