Thieves target lead, copper and aluminium

THIEVES have turned their attention to stealing lead, aluminium and copper, according to a commercial security company.

Netwatch, a Carlow-based firm, claimed it had seen a 60% increase in the number of attempted attacks on property where gangs specifically look to strip electrical wiring or remove lead from roofs or copper fittings.

Earlier this month, police in the north arrested and charged four men in Portadown over alleged copper theft, while in Limerick this week gardaí are investigating the theft of more than 150 metres of Eircom cabling from poles in the Ballysheedy area.

That was the second such theft in the area in recent weeks, with other companies such as the ESB also affected by the thefts.

Netwatch chief executive David Walsh said such attacks were not new and that increasing prices for copper and other materials globally meant rising demand and therefore more thefts.

Mr Walsh said: “We first saw thieves stealing telephone lines this time last year in Co Kilkenny.

“In the past 12 months we have seen a 60% increase in the number of attempted attacks on premises with gangs specifically targeting these lucrative commodities.

“In addition to stripping out electrical wiring, we have seen criminals target lead on roofs, copper piping and even immersion tanks.”

Gardaí could not say yesterday whether or not they had seen a rise in the number of thefts of copper or aluminium materials, but it is understood gardaí investigating the recent Limerick thefts believe scrap metal merchants can help reduce the number of thefts by reporting any stolen material.

Earlier this month, Sergeant Brian Broderick of Henry Street Garda Station in Limerick city told local radio that metal stolen from a premises in Raheen Industrial Estate in March was recovered after it was identified by a Limerick scrap dealer.

David Walsh claimed that in some cases the gangs targeting premises for materials such as copper and lead were disguising themselves as workmen and were using sophisticated equipment.

He also said unoccupied buildings and construction sites were particularly vulnerable to criminals targeting the theft of these materials and said property owners and management companies should be aware of the visibility of commodities and watch out for access points that may give criminals easy access.