Kirsty Mckenzie
AN ALLEGED copper thief from Benacazon has been arrested after a spate of robberies in Sevilla.
The crook, who is accused of plundering miles of wiring and leaving dozens of Sevilla homes without power, has been arrested in connection with nine thefts at Adif de Salteras and Villanueva del Ariscal-Olivares.
Over the course of a year and a half police claim the thief stole thousands of metres of copper wiring belonging to the electric substations located in towns in the Aljarafe region.
The man is thought to be responsible for a further two separate incidents on farms in the town of Benacazon.
The stolen wiring was sold to clueless scrap metal dealers in Gines who bought the copper in good faith after the suspect told them he recovered the wiring from demolished buildings or houses and abandoned facilities.
Police believe the suspect would usually strike in the middle of the night and target overhead power lines in rural areas.
The crook used ‘crude’ methods to carry out the offences and placed themselves in grave danger of electrocution, investigators said.
Live power lines were cut with bolt cutters attached to extendable poles and none of the gang had any knowledge of working with power lines.
His alleged actions had the potential to electrocute people and damage electrical devices within homes.
Members of the public who came across damaged power lines and those responsible for investigating the offences were also placed in danger, police said.
The man is due to appear in court this week.
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