Copperbelt Police Arrest Truckers For Trying To Steal Copper

Police on the Copperbelt have arrested two truck drivers for attempting to steal a vehicle full of copper at the border with the DRC.

One of the men arrested initially claimed that the truck had been stolen from him after he was attacked at the Nakonde border crossing. The man, 30, is from Tanzania and claimed that he had been driving the truck back to his home country from Congo when it burst a tyre coming in to Zambia. At that point, he alleged, he was attacked by four men, who hijacked the truck and drove it away.

However, police spokesperson Esther Katongo says that when officers followed up on the case, they found the truck in the bush near a magazine dumpsite, along with 30 blisters of copper which had not been touched. There was also no indication of a burst tyre.

Police determined that the complainant was not the actual driver of the truck, who they later found in the town of Kasumbalesa.

Both men have now been arrested and are suspected of having conspired with other, unknown suspects to try and sell the copper.

The pair are currently in police custody and will appear in court soon.

Commenting on the case, Ms Katongo said “As Zambia police, we have observed through investigations that most reports on copper thefts from trucks turn out to be connivance involving people entrusted with the goods.”