The Mara Police arrested two suspects last Thursday in connection with the theft of copper pipes and electric cables from farms around Mara-Buysdorp.

The two suspects are Eric Mudau (34) and Nomsa Mphateng (23) and were arrested for breaking in at the Nieman Safari Lodge and allegedly stealing copper pipes and electric cables to the value of R60 000.

The two briefly appeared in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate´s Court last Friday and the case was postponed to March 7.

According to the spokesperson for the police, WO Thabelo Rambuda, the two suspects were traveling along the Vivo road in a Toyota Conquest sedan with a Gauteng registration number and were arrested after they had been stopped during the police´s regular stop-and-search patrol. "We searched the vehicle and found copper and electric cable to the value of R60 000. We have opened a charge of theft, possession of stolen property and housebreaking," said Rambuda.

He added that it is suspected that the two broke in at the Nieman Safari Lodge and stole the recovered goods. According to him, the two suspects are Zimbabwean nationals.

Members of the community are advised to continue using the number 015 593 0103 to report criminal activities in the Mara area and the surrounding farms.