Five Zimbabwe nationals have been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the theft of solar batteries and copper cables in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

The five have been named as Mbonisi Ndlovu, 27, Doubt Mlilo, 28, Mbonisi Dube, 33, Mduduzi Ndlovu, 23, and Gundo Masikhiwa, 26.

The quintet had entered South Africa illegally, according to local publication DFA, and remained within the country's borders.

DFA reported that the police were tipped off following suspicious activity near the Vodacom cellphone tower near Upington on July 29, 2023.

“The accused entered the country at the farm Eensaam Kasteel. The police found the accused in possession of the stolen essential infrastructure items. They were arrested and charged in connection with the theft of two Vodacom cell tower batteries and copper cables," said Provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane.

"It was later determined that Ndlovu, Mlilo, Dube, and Mduduzi Ndlovu were Zimbabwe nationals who had entered and remained within the borders of South Africa illegally."

According to Senokoatsane, the men were found guilty of the theft of essential infrastructure, theft of non-ferrous metals, and contravention of the Immigration Act.

He added that the sentences were handed down to send a strong message to people stealing telecom infrastructure.

In total, the men were each sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the theft of the batteries, plus another nine months imprisonment for the theft of the cables.

Two of the men were sentenced to an additional three years imprisonment for contravention of the Immigration Act.

Infrastructure theft has been a big issue for telecom carriers in South Africa.

In January, Telkom, along with South African Police Services (SAPS), revealed that more than 3,000 people have been arrested for such crimes, adding that the partnership has resulted in less theft at their sites.

Rival telco MTN Group paired with the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board in March to clamp down on network infrastructure theft and vandalism.

Acknowledging its own issue with these crimes, Vodacom said it has increased security at its base station sites, through the installation of CCTV cameras, back in September.

Last year, in Ghana, a man who stole telco cables belonging to Vodafone Ghana was sentenced to seven years in prison.