Copper cables theft: Government warns scrap metal dealers

THE scrap metal industry has been identified as a niche market for stolen copper cables in the country. The Government says the net is closing in on such culprits and calls upon citizens to play their part in exposing the vice and bringing the perpetrators to book.

Law enforcement agents are involved in cat-and-mouse games with copper cable thieves. Fears are also mounting that the criminal masterminds may be working in cahoots with employees of targeted organisations such as the National Railways of Zimbabwe, telecommunications companies and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), the largest users of copper cables.

Suburbs are spending days or even weeks without power because of theft of copper cables. During these dark days, robberies and theft from houses increase as criminals take advantage of the darkness.

In a recent interview, Minister of Energy and Power Development Edgar Moyo said the scrap metal dealers are the biggest market for stolen copper cables.

The theft and vandalism of critical public infrastructure are costing the country millions of United States dollars in repairs and replacement costs while lives have also been lost.

“This is a serious criminal activity that we are seized with as Government, police and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC),” said Minister Moyo.

He said Government was aware that the biggest buyers of the stolen copper cables are those in the scrap metal industry and was putting them on notice.

“They must stop buying the stolen copper cables or risk being arrested,” said Minister Moyo.

He said members of the public must also desist from harbouring copper cable thieves as they can also be arrested as accomplices.

“These people do not live on Mars but they live in communities and are known. Our people must report these criminals to the police because they are not only causing inconveniences but cost Government millions of dollars every year.

“Members of the public must join hands with the police to fight vandalism of infrastructure and theft of copper cables,” said Minister Moyo.

In 2022, Government amended the Copper Control Amendment Act, which raised the minimum sentence for illegal possession of copper cables from two yeas to 10 years. The Act made it mandatory for all copper dealers to have certificates of origin for the metal in their possession.

The Act says that any person who unlawfully or intentionally deals in or possesses copper without a certificate of origin shall be guilty of an offence, and if there are no special circumstances peculiar to the case, be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than 10 years without the option of a fine. The Act also guards against vandalism of any item or essential infrastructure through theft of copper cables.

“Any person who unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally, tampers with, damages or destroys utilities through theft of copper cables or colludes with or assists another person in the commission, performance or carrying out of any activity and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that there are copper cables shall be guilty of an offence,” reads part of the Act.

Experts say there is little difference between the quality of recycled and mined copper. The recycling process also requires less energy than primary production and the product is cheaper to refine than raw copper hence the increases cases of thefts and vandalism of infrastructure that has copper.

According to a study by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime between 2009 and 2018, recycled copper accounted for 32 percent of all copper used worldwide.