Three people have been arrested following an investigation into the theft of a large amount of underground cables from the western suburbs.
It will be alleged that between Friday 23 October and Monday 26 October, about 450 metres of cabling was stolen from Port Road at Hindmarsh.
The suspects are believed to have used two large trucks with winches to remove the heavy cabling, which is estimated to have weighed over a tonne.
About 10pm last night (Thursday 5 November), an off-duty police officer noticed trucks parked at the intersection of South and Port Road’s, with three men removing underground cables.
The officer alerted Western District Police and further enquiries led to the arrest of three men at the scene who were in the process of removing the cables.
Further inspection of the area found that around 200 metres of cables had been removed.
A 55-year-old Morphett Vale man, a 48-year-old Broadview man and a 44-year-old Woodcroft man were charged with theft. They were refused bail and appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court today.
Police investigations resulted in a further three premises being searched where police located a further 275 metres of suspected stolen cables, weapons, ammunition, cash, illicit drugs and cannabis.
Further charges are expected to be laid and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone who has information that can assist police is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au
Regional General Manager for Telstra in SA, Mr Mark Bolton said, “Copper cable plays an important part in Adelaide’s telecommunications network. A loss of service can potentially have serious impacts for customers in times of emergencies and also means we need to divert work crews from other tasks to replace or repair the damaged infrastructure. “
“If it doesn’t look like a professional work site with the right safety gear and the right equipment, then it’s probably someone taking cable illegally or messing around with our network.”
Telstra encourages anyone seeing anyone working suspiciously in a manhole or on the side of the road after hours that doesn’t look genuine to call police.
Any suspicious activity around building or construction sites should be reported to the Police Assistance Line immediately on 131 444.
