Police have recovered a total of 100 kilos of copper wires allegedly stolen from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. power poles after Typhoon Soudelor\u2019s devastation.<\/p>\n
Department of Public Safety acting spokesman Jason Tarkong said yesterday that police recovered early this week a total of 100 kilos of copper wires from two recycling centers on the island.<\/p>\n
Tarkong said the stolen copper wires have been confirmed as CUC\u2019s property.<\/p>\n
Tarkong also revealed that 26 other kilos of stolen aluminum were recovered during the two police operations.<\/p>\n
He said that based on his information, a kilo of copper wire is worth $4 at the recycling centers.<\/p>\n
Asked if police made any arrest, DPS Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero said yesterday that investigation is ongoing and that they are \u201cgoing to get to the bottom of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero said CUC filed several complaints of copper wires being stolen from downed power poles and that police are making progress in terms of the investigation into those cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to emphasize to those people who continue to go out and victimize other people in times like this. This is absolutely disturbing and at best very disheartening for the members of the community,\u201d the commissioner said.<\/p>\n
He said a lot of people are affected by copper wire theft incidents and that if some people continue to steal copper wires from downed power poles, it is just going to prolong what CUC needs to do to be able to restore full island power.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t even know at this point if there is adequate wiring supply for them to be able to utilize the power poles. It will just delay the island power restoration if too much of this is happening,\u201d Deleon Guerrero said.<\/p>\n
The commissioner commended CUC\u2019s efforts because \u201cthey\u2019re doing a fantastic job\u201d in terms of trying to put up power poles and trying to restore power given their limited resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if there are others in the community that are choosing to take advantage of all these downed pole lines and start cutting them up and sending them to recycling centers for a few bucks, it\u2019s absolute craziness that needs to be dealt with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero vowed to go all out in terms of what they need to do to investigate and apprehend those responsible for stealing those cooper wires.<\/p>\n
He disclosed that a task force has been created to handle all cooper wires thefts that are happening.<\/p>\n
As to recycling centers that buy stolen copper wires, Deleon Guerrero there is very limited legal consequence for these businesses, which is why he is reaching out to other government agencies that have better leverage when it comes to regulating the business community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019re hoping at this point actually to try to make it hurt them because it is ridiculous. You would know when you see when something is stolen,\u201d the commissioner pointed out.<\/p>\n
He reiterated his recommendation for the Legislature to consider making it illegal to export copper wires from the Commonwealth, \u201cwhen you look at the damage that have been caused by people stealing cooper from residential homes and public infrastructure.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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