HE SITS, haunches quivering in anticipation, eyes fixed on his handler. He waits and waits . . . then finally the order comes.
“Soek! [Find]”, comes the command – and he’s off, nose to the ground, searching for what he knows he must find: copper. Less than five minutes later he’s located a pipe hidden among the tall grass at the far end of the training field. Tail wagging, he returns it to his handler and is rewarded with a chew on his favourite rubber toy.
Meet Jackson, the City of Cape Town’s latest weapon in its fight against copper theft. Thanks to his highly trained nose, Jackson is helping police combat one of the biggest scourges in the Western Cape.
Last year, the government issued a six-month ban on copper and copper-alloy scrap metal exports in a bid to crack down on the problem, which is estimated to cost SA more than R47 billion a year.
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan even warned that people exporting copper could be charged with treason.
But copper thieves had better watch out: Jackson is on their case. At seven, the black-and-white pit bull mix, isn’t as quick around the obstacle course as he used to be – but what he lacks in speed he more than makes up for in experience.
He’s a professional with many jobs under his collar and a great reputation too. Of course, none of it would be possible without his handler, Constable Yusuf Fredericks (49).
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 30 March 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 30 March 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
'I'M BACK!'
ACK!’ Scandal after scandal hits Jacob Zuma, yet nothing ever brings him down. Now he’s plotting his return to parliament and he’s hinted he has his heart set on another term as president
A BRAIN YOU CAN COUNT ON
Meet Aaryan Shukla, the 13-year-old from India whos just been crowned the worlds fastest human calculator
FUN WHILE IT LASTED
It's all over for oddball couple Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher
THE TEEN MACHINE!
Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo has set the footballing world alight with his dazzling displays
A BETTER LIFE FOR ELIJAH
A rare condition means this little boy can't bend his arms and legs, but his parents are doing everything they can to give him a normal life
A DOCTOR'S JOURNEY
He chose to do one of the toughest jobs in medicine: looking after children who were dying. In this moving extract from his memoir, Cape Town paediatrician Alastair McAlpine reveals how, with wisdom and humour, sick kids taught him crucial lessons that changed his approach to life
'SA WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF ME'
Cindy Nell-Roberts is starting a new lite Down Under with her family. She tells YOU about the chaotic but happy p ansliepent why shes missing home
HOW TO SPOT A NARCISSIST
They often look like the most confident person in the room, but narcissists are insecure and desperate for validation, says a new book
DEFIANT TO THE END
He went from star athlete to Hollywood hero and ended up a reviled criminal but OJ Simpson remained unapologetic
BRING IT ON TAMMY!
Peet and Mel Viljoen arent going to let threats deter them from their fabulous life