GQEBERHA – SAPS Swartkops have made a significant breakthrough when 21 suspects were arrested on 01 September 2025 at about 23:30 on the premises of the Transnet Electrical Depot in Swartkops.
This followed after security guards at the depot spotted trespassers on the premises and alerted SAPS. SAPS Swartkops responded and after a search on the premises, 21 male suspects were arrested where they were found hiding in a locomotive with several bags and backpacks filled with stolen property.
The items included copper bus bars, transformers, electrical switches, copper cables and electrical cables to an estimated value of about R350 000. Three backpacks were also containing numerous tools inside.
The items were confiscated and the 21 males (aged between 18 and 44 years) were arrested on charges of damage to essential infrastructure.
The SAPS Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Major General Vuyisile Ncata welcomed the arrests and noted that these arrests are breaking into the criminal networks that are responsible for the gradual degradation and failures of our essential infrastructure in the Nelson Mandela Bay area.
