SEIZED: TM technicians helping a Klang police station personnel sort through stolen cables at the scrapyard
Two electric cable thieves were arrested at an illegal scrap yard in Jalan Sungai Jati on Monday with stolen cables and electrical transformers worth RM1 million.
The duo, aged 41 and 19, were nabbed during a police joint operation called Ops Lusuh with assistance from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM).
"Acting on a tip-off that an illegal scrap metal yard was selling stolen cables and transformers, we observed the two suspects over the past week before raiding their premises," said South Klang district police chief ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop yesterday.
"We believe they conducted their illegal business for eight years, acting as fences for cable thieves while commiting some of the theft themselves."
He said initial investigations showed the cables and transformers were stolen from TNB sub-stations, including overhead power cables from TM poles, mainly in the Klang area.
"Their scrap metal yard was renovated into a warehouse of sorts. We estimate the items seized are worth about RM1 million," he said.
"Ops Lusuh is on-going as the theft of cables and transformers have become rampant in Selangor.
"Copper wires can fetch RM40 for a kg."
Both suspects were remanded for further investigation under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft and Section 6 of the Second-Hand Dealers Act 1946 for operating without licence.
