GEORGE TOWN: Police here have arrested 19 people for allegedly stealing copper cables belonging to Telekom Malaysia (TM).
Penang police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the suspects were arrested in Penang and Kedah.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said that a TM sub-contractor and 10 others were caught red-handed in a raid on Jan 10 by a team from the George Town police headquarters' Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
"They were caught while cutting and removing underground copper cables at about 2.30am at the junction of Jalan Tanjung Bungah Park,” he said.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said that the 11 had pretended to be contractors and workers.
"All suspects failed to show any authorisation or supporting documents to conduct any work for TM," he said at a press conference at state police headquarters on Monday (Jan 16).
He added that the investigation led to the arrests of eight others who were picked up around Sungai Petani, Kedah.
He said the syndicate disguised themselves as TM maintenance workers when stealing the copper cables, adding that the total losses have been reported to be approximately RM910,448.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily then said that a lorry and three cars were among the items seized when the suspects were arrested.
He said that 65 copper cables with the word Telekom Malaysia written on them, 14 handphones, safety wear, beacon lamps, steel cutters, pipe cutters, saws, pliers, steel hooks and chains were also seized along with two manhole keys, a parang and an axe.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily added that once the syndicate had the copper, the other parts would be disposed of at sites in Sungai Petani and Kuala Ketil, Kedah.
"From the arrests, we believe we have solved 27 copper cable theft cases; 17 are in Penang while the remaining 10 are at Kedah," said Comm Mohd Shuhaily.
Asked if the sub-contractor was the mastermind of the syndicate, Comm Mohd Shuhaily said police were still investigating the matter.
He also said that the urine test results for seven of the suspects came back positive for methamphetamine and that 14 of those detained had between two and 12 previous cases in their criminal record for drugs and crime-related offences.
On the investigation, Comm Mohd Shuhaily said that the case is probed under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft.
