Warning alerts are being circulated in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups amid a surge in copper theft that has left several homes flooded after thieves stripped water pipes and meters.
In Glenroy Park, two houses were targeted in the same week, with pipes ripped from the walls, while a nearby home had its water meter stolen earlier in November.
Atlas Security spokesperson Ryan Morris said the company had responded to 185 incidents involving stolen cables and copper pipes in the past three months.
“Atlas Security is responding to a large number of thefts across the metro, many involving municipal cables, telephone lines and copper piping,” he said.
“These thefts are not only happening on private property — [the thieves] are even grinding open drain covers and digging trenches in public spaces to reach their targeted loot.”
The company has been sending alerts to neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, warning residents that putting out refuse bags the night before collection often attracts unwanted activity.
Morris said the problem was metro-wide and worsening, with Walmer recording 21 incidents over the period.
“In the past three months, our team has responded to a total of 474 confirmed thefts, of which 185 involved copper pipes and cables,” he said.
“Areas with six or more incidents include North End, Sidwell, Retief in Despatch, Sydenham, Heuwelkruin, also in Despatch, Gqeberha Central and Greenshields Park.”
In Brymore, resident Zubair Khan said his house had been hit twice in two weeks — first for a water meter, then for pipes.
“The water meter was stolen about two weeks ago,” he said.
“Then on Tuesday, Atlas called to say there was water coming out of my property.
“[The thieves] had scaled the wall, cut the pipes and left the water gushing out.
“They keep doing this because they know nothing will be done.
“Even if they end up in court, they’ll spin a story and get let out.
“Meanwhile, I had to spend R2,600 to replace all my pipes.”
He said his house was the third to be targeted in his street.
In Glenroy Park, Curtis Dullabh was left with a flooded garden on Tuesday after thieves struck.
“It was the main pipe connecting the meter to the house and the bathroom pipe,” he said.
His neighbour, Warrick du Toit, was targeted two weeks earlier.
“I heard a noise outside at about 5am but didn’t think much of it,” he said.
“Two minutes later, there was a loud smash.
“When I ran outside, they’d already disappeared — my copper pipe had been ripped from the wall.
“What’s frustrating is that what takes them three seconds to steal for maybe R100 ends up costing us thousands to fix.”
Ward 39 councillor Margaret de Andrade said three water meters had recently been stolen in Shabani Street, Kamma Ridge.
“It’s not a gated complex and we believe that’s why it’s being targeted,” she said.
“We’ve requested the municipality to replace the stolen ones with plastic meters.”
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said different strategies were being used to tackle the issue.
“Theft of copper is generally a concern, hence regular operations are conducted aimed at enforcing the Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009 and other pertinent legislation to combat stolen goods.
“These incidents are sporadic, hence different policing strategies are employed.
“Some of these strategies involve teams comprising municipal law enforcement agencies and parastatals such as Eskom and Telkom.”
He said these operations were in addition to normal police visible crime prevention patrols to curb theft of copper.
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