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A Sasolburg man has been sentenced to eight years in prison or an R8 000 fine for copper cable theft and illegal immigration.
John Temoso Noko (46) appeared before the Sasolburg Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 6 May, where he was convicted and sentenced.
Four years of the sentence have been suspended for five years. He was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of being an illegal immigrant in the country. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
His conviction stems from an incident which took place on Wednesday, 12 January 2022, where members of the Viljoensdrift police were conducting their normal patrol duties in the Viljoensdrift area.
During the patrol, the police became suspicious of an Isuzu bakkie. They then stopped the vehicle and found two suspects at the time. The police searched the vehicle and found stolen Transnet copper cable with an estimated value of R120 000. The suspects were arrested. A case docket was registered and handed over to the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team based in Welkom for further exploration.
His co-accused, Nkosinathi Welcome Mahlaba (35), failed to appear before the court during the sentencing and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
