Cops nab copper cable thieves in PJ

PETALING JAYA: Two men have been arrested for the alleged theft of over 100m of copper cables used for telecommunications.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said they were alerted at around 5am on Monday (Oct 10) after an individual noticed some suspicious activity at Kelana Jaya.

"We dispatched police personnel to the scene and they found a group of men stealing underground cables belonging to a telecommunications company.

"The suspects attempted to flee but we managed to arrest one 24-year-old suspect nearby while another 43-year-old suspect was arrested while he was hiding in a drain after the lorry he sped off in crashed into another vehicle.

"We checked the lorry and seized three cutters, traffic cones, two hammers, tow ropes, 100m of cables, two traffic signs, a generator, two MyKads and other items," he told reporters on Thursday (Oct 13).

He said further checks revealed the 43-year-old suspect had four records for prior crimes.

"The modus operandi of the suspects was to behave like contractors doing roadside construction work while they were actually stealing cables.

"We believe the suspects would sell the copper cables to scrap metal dealers," he said, adding that the two suspects have been remanded for four days to assist further investigations.

He said the case was classified as theft, causing mischief by damaging cables and holding the identification documents of other individuals.