Cable theft suspects arrested
Print Edition
FORTY-FIVE suspects have been arrested for stealing underground power cables in Shanghai, estimated to be worth more than 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million), police said yesterday.
Police added this was the largest case of its kind in the city in recent years.
With equipment “even better than that of state-owned power companies,” according to police, the suspects are alleged to have committed 30 thefts from August in Yangpu, Jiading and Baoshan districts and Pudong New Area.
Working at night, the cable thieves allegedly drove vans painted in the colors of the National Grid and wore fake “Shanghai Power” uniforms to fool passers-by.
Police said they usually worked in groups of 20 to 30, but in some instances up to 60.
All of the cables stolen were spare cables that had been buried underground for up to 20 years so that the thefts wouldn’t cause power failures, police said.
Among the suspects, a man surnamed Li, who had some experience working at power projects, was considered to be the source who revealed locations of the cables, but police said they were “still investigating whether power company employees were involved.”
“They were equipped with gas masks, waterproof suits and water pumps, looking just like professionals,” said Zhou Jian, a police officer from Yangpu District who was in charge of the case.
The cables were sold to dealers in Baoshan District, where the gangs also parked their vans, and were then sold in neighboring Jiangsu Province, police said.
Police in Yangpu District said they began an investigation after being tipped off about a theft earlier this year near Handan Road and Guoding Road.
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