The Department of Public Safety said they received a call from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. complaint desk reporting two incidents of copper wire theft.
DPS acting spokesman PO2 Jason T. Tarkong told reporters yesterday that the thieves stole copper wire from a house in Dandan at about 10:03 a.m. on Sunday.
On the same day, less than an hour later, another copper wire theft incident was reported by a house owner in Chalan Kiya.
“The perpetrator/s stole copper wire from drop lines at both houses,” Tarkong said.
He said investigation is still going on.
“We are asking the community to help us catch the perpetrators by calling DPS or the Crime Stoppers if they have any information about this,” Tarkong said.
Last year, DPS reported an increase in copper wire theft incidents all over the island.
DPS spokeswoman Lei Ogumoro earlier said police were working hand in hand with the recycling centers on island to curb copper wire theft incidents.
She said DPS asked the recycling centers not to just buy any copper wire sold to them.
Authorities said the scrap copper trade remains a lucrative business as the price of the metal continues to increase.
Copper wire fetches a high price in China.
DPS is urging the community to report copper wire theft incidents to the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 234-7272. All calls are kept anonymous, no caller ID is used and there is a reward of up to $1,000 for any information that will lead to an arrest.
