Keetmanshoop
The //Kharas police have recovered an infrared thermal imaging camera worth N$500 000 stolen in February from the Skorpion Zinc mine.
A male suspect believed to be a former employee of the mine who was selling the camera was arrested on March 7 in Ondangwa, after a police officer masqueraded as a possible buyer and agreed to meet him at a hotel to carry out the transaction.
The //Kharas Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Rudolf Isaak, told New Era the arrest was one of the best operations the //Kharas police have yielded.
“This one is one of the big success stories in the region in terms of crime prevention,” said Isaak.
He said after receiving tip-offs they alerted one of their officers who was in the north at the time and he took up the lead that resulted in the arrest.
Isaak thanked their partners in crime prevention and the police in Ondangwa for their efforts and cooperation during the operation.
The camera is mostly used to view and detect things otherwise not visible to the naked eye.
In the mining sector it’s usually used to detect equipment failures or hot spots before they develop into a fire and in case of a fire it allows rescue personnel to see in the darkness and through dense smoke, thus making it easier to locate heated areas and missing or trapped workers.
The camera will be handed back to Skorpion Zinc while the suspect is expected to appear in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court today.