Marton theft disrupts electricity supplies
Households on Turkina Valley Road near Christophers Road lost power when thieves cut down two poles and removed about 300 metres of copper wiring, 1News NZ reported. The power company was alerted to the outage between 4.15am and 4.30am on October 24, and authorities learned later that morning, at about 10am, that the wire was missing.
Marton Prevention Sergeant Colin Wright put the expected replacement cost at approximately $500,000. He also warned that interfering with power lines could cause serious injury to those responsible or other people.
Police sought information from witnesses and anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam recordings. Scrap-metal dealers were asked to report suspicious transactions or attempted sales, with Wright reminding them that purchasing stolen copper or metal is illegal.
Rhode Island deploys heavy covers
In a separate infrastructure-security development, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation is installing concrete covers weighing 700 pounds to discourage copper theft, ABC6 reported. The measure comes after more than $1 million in wiring was stolen, according to the report.