Five men in court for copper cable theft

Peter Matika, Senior Reporter

FIVE Bulawayo men have appeared in court facing charges of illegal possession and trade in copper worth more than $3 000.

Nhlanhla Ndebele, Ntando Nkomo, Cornelius Moyo, Sisa Nkomo and Talent Ngwenya appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Franklyn Mkhwananzi last week and were remanded in custody to Friday for trial.

Presenting the case for the State, Mr Nkathazo Dlodlo said three of the suspects were caught red handed working on the copper.

“Moyo, Nkomo and Ngwenya were found cutting the material and upon interrogation they implicated Ndebele and Nkomo. Police also quizzed the tenant of the house who revealed that the copper had been brought by Nkomo in a white Toyota Quantum and requested they worked on the said metal,” said Mr Dlodlo.

He said police managed to recover 244 kilogrammes of copper wire valued at $3 050. The gang is alleged to have stolen the copper from the National Railways of Zimbabwe, sometime between last month and this month. They were arrested by detectives from the CID Minerals Flora and Fauna Unit on 2 July in Emganwini suburb, following a tip-off by members of the public.

@peterkmatika