Eight accused have on Wednesday, 22 September appeared before the Potchefstroom Magistrates’ Court on charges of possession of suspected stolen property.
The accused court appearance stems from their arrest on Tuesday, 21 September 2021, at about 06:25. Police were informed of two vehicles, a Toyota Hilux bakkie and a Mazda 3 sedan that were allegedly loaded with copper cables and driving towards Potchefstroom on the N12 road from the direction of Klerksdorp. The swift reaction by members of Potchefstroom Flying Squad led to the two vehicles being pulled off just before they could enter Potchefstroom. There were three occupants in the bakkie and five in the sedan. Furthermore, when members searched the vehicles, they found 527 Kg of copper cables with estimated street value of R260 000.00 loaded at the back of the bakkie.
All eight accused; Alex Vembane (32), James Thobela (34), Caswell Mahlaule (38), Vasco Sethole (38), Constantino Saveca (41), Aubrey Sethole (49), Victor Ngome (51) and Dumisani Sethole (51) were detained and charged with possession of suspected stolen property and both vehicles were confiscated. The accused were all remanded in custody until Wednesday, 29 September 2021, for a formal bail application.
