Three male suspects were arrested by the Bandelierkop police on Tuesday morning, November 20 following the discovery of metal and copper wire hidden inside a freight truck.

The truck, which is presumably from Malawi, was travelling on the N1 towards Matoks when it was stopped by police officers to perform a stop-and-search operation.

Upon opening the back of the trailer, a huge pile of aluminium and other metal was discovered. Several bags containing stripped copper cables were also found.

Three suspects, all from Malawi, were arrested and the contents of the truck was taken to the Bandelierkop police station.

Police spokesperson Insp Zwidofhela Ramabulana told the Zoutpansberger that the truck was on its way to Gauteng. The owner of the truck is yet to be found, as the police computers cannot track the foreign registration plate. The total value of the metal and copper is estimated at R500 000.

At the time of going to press, the three suspects were to appear in the Ramagopa magistrate’s court.

In another case of smuggling, Bandelierkop police have arrested one male and one female on charges of being in possession of illegal cigarettes. The suspects were also arrested following a stop-and-search operation near the Capricorn toll plaza. Illegal cigarettes worth about R5 600 were found.

The two suspects, both Zimbabwean, appeared before the magistrate’s court held at Bandelierkop and were released on bail of R1 000.