Stolen electrical cables are routinely burnt to get rid of insulation and to effectively destroy all existing identification measures. This prevents authorities from proving cable ownership  and origin – and therefore that a theft has taken place.

Of all the copper cable thieves caught in South Africa, over 80% are repeat offenders.

Of those thieves that are caught, only 7% are convicted – the other 93% have to be released because ownership cannot be proven. Thieves therefore remain free to carry on stealing cables.

The theft and granulation of copper is a common practice in the scrap metal industry, where thieves steal copper from construction sites, electrical wiring, and other sources and then sell it to scrap dealers. However, the stolen copper is often identifiable by its markings or other unique features, which can reveal its origin and link it to the theft.

To avoid being caught, some thieves have developed a technique called granulation. This involves melting down the stolen copper and then breaking it up into small granules or pellets. By doing this, the copper is no longer identifiable by its original markings or shape, making it much harder to trace back to its source. CableDNA technologies make this practice impossible.