Cellphone towers are a critical part of social infrastructure in developing countries, especially where installing fibre is impractical. The cellphone has become the default way to stay in touch, especially in rural areas. Criminals stealing cellphone tower batteries, cause major disruptions to businesses, and individual lives.
Cellphone Tower Battery Theft in South Africa
South Africa is particularly troubled by battery thieves, robbing cellphone stations of their batteries. The level of crime is high, and law enforcement resources are struggling to cope. Moreover, the country’s borders are porous, making it easier to move stolen goods to a neighboring country.
Stolen cellphone tower batteries can easily find new uses in a region, where the electricity supply may become unreliable. Stealing cellphone tower batteries has become big business among criminal networks, that often rely on individual battery thieves working alone.
The rate of tower battery theft, and the infrastructural damage this causes, sometimes forces operators to abandon base stations. This adversely affects network quality, according to IT Web. In some cases, there may be no signal at all. Battery theft is far from being a ‘victimless crime’ in South Africa.
Criminal cases can take a while to reach courts because of stretched resources. Between April 2018 and June 2019, there were ongoing battery thefts from network towers in the remote Northern Province of South Africa. This region shares borders with neighboring Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
Court Imposes Severe Penalty for Tower Battery Theft
Cellphone towers are under threat from battery offenders in South Africa. Criminals working for syndicates also vandalize infrastructure, and steal copper and backup diesel fuel too. The criminals are quick-fingered and highly mobile. Many escape capture, and this encourages copy-cat thieves.
However, in this particular instance, the South African Police tracked the thief down. He remained in custody until his court appearance. The court awarded him a prison sentence of 45 years for stealing cellphone tower batteries. Plus 2 years for contravening immigration laws.
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