Garda operation on ‘organised’ copper cable gang continues

Gardaí are continuing to hunt remaining members of a “very organised” foreign gang responsible for much of the copper cable theft in Ireland in recent years.

Officers arrested a sixth suspected member of this outfit — from the Balkan region — on Tuesday and released him without charge yesterday.

A significant operation, involving gardaí from Portlaoise and Kilkenny detective units, national support services, Eastern Regional RSU, and local units, were involved in the searches of three properties.

Officers arrested a man in his 40s and took away a number of items for examination. There had been a theft of ESB cable in south Kilkenny in recent weeks.

Sources said the man was suspected of being “a member” of the Balkan gang.

Gardaí said they are still “looking for a few others” and that they “flitter in and out of the country”.

Five suspected members of the gang were arrested during a garda operation last August and three have been brought before the courts.

“If we identify them, they leave and move on,” said one source. “They’re a moving target and we try and keep on top of them.”

Many of the gang live in the Leixlip area of Co Kildare. Members often use false identification.

Some have identified themselves as Romanian, but senior garda bosses have previously said they were more likely from the west Balkans, which includes Albania and the former Yugoslavia states.

“This gang is one of the main gangs involved in cable theft and they are very organised,” said one source.

While being organised, the gang uses fairly basic methods to cut the wiring.

Members use home-made feet clamps to climb wooden poles and long hand-held secateurs — typically used in gardening — to cut the heavy wires.

“They are basic secateurs,” said the source, “and the lines are not overhead, they have to reach out left or right to cut the wires. They are like acrobats.”

The crime is extremely dangerous not only for the criminals but for anyone coming near the wiring.

Last year it was estimated that in the region of 140km of copper wiring had been stolen since 2012 in 685 incidents. This is estimated to have cost the ESB and other utilities €27m to repair and replace.