Maputo — The Mozambican police in the central province of Manica have arrested ten more people on charges of sabotaging pylons and stealing electricity cables, reports Friday's issue of the daily 'Noticias'.

The last incident of theft occurred on Wednesday night when the criminals knocked down a pylon on the high voltage line between the Manica provincial capital, Chimoio, and the port of Beira, causing restrictions in the power supply to those two cities.

With the latest arrests the number of people detained for attacks on the electricity transmission lines in Manica comes to 17 in less than a week.

The first seven suspects were arrested in the district of Gondola and in Chimoio city, accused of demolishing four wooden pylons, with the use of a chain saw.

Eighty five pylons have been knocked down and 35 kilometres of electric cables stolen in Manica during the last nine months.

The Manica director of the Mozambican electricity company (EDM), Caetano Mourao explained that power distribution on one of the lines that had been interrupted last week because of the action of the thieves, has resumed, after replacing the stolen cables, at the cost of 600,000 meticais (about 22,000 US dollars).

In three occasions in a month, the thieves stole 700 metres of copper cable from the IAC/Matsinho line, and a metal pylon on the line from the Cahora Bassa dam to Beira collapsed after the thieves weakened it by stealing the supporting angle pieces.

Following the collapse of this post and the thefts in Matsinho, the cities of Chimoio and Beira, and the Matsinho administrative post were in the dark for many hours, before EDM found alternative means of power supply.

According to Mourao, Matsinho is still in darkness, while efforts are under way to replace the stolen copper cables.

He said that EDM's total losses due to theft and sabotage over the past nine months come to about 3.3 million meticais.