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The RCMP is trying to find the owner – or owners – of more than a ton of copper wire that officers have recovered since the beginning of March.
Sgt. Evan Gordon of the Morse RCMP detachment said Tuesday that three separate investigations – by the Morse, Swift Current City and Swift Current Rural detachments – resulted in the seizure of between 2,200 and 2,500 pounds of copper wire.
Investigations in and around Swift Current and in the Herbert area led to the recovery of the wire. Now the RCMP wants to find from whom the wire was stolen.
“Based on the amount and the way that it was recovered, we believe it likely is from job sites,” Gordon said. “I don’t know that there’s very many people who possess that amount of copper wire, and the way that it was located, that aren’t involved with it commercially somehow.”
According to a media release issued by the RCMP, some of the wire can be identified based on markings and labels – but that hasn’t helped investigators find the owners.
As a result, the RCMP is asking companies and individuals who work with bare and coated copper wire to check their supplies to see if they’ve been robbed.
Two men were arrested and charged with what Gordon called “a multitude of offences” in connection with the theft of the wire that subsequently was recovered. A 30-year-old was to appear in court Tuesday, while a 33-year-old is to be in court on May 17.
Gordon said investigators believe the men in custody are the only suspects.
Copper wire has been a popular target for thieves over the years because the metal is valuable as scrap. In the past, it has been stolen from places like electrical substations, construction sites and vacant homes.
“I believe it’s becoming a more common occurrence,” Gordon said. “I’m sure there are a few different factors that go into causing someone to steal large amounts of copper wire.”
The RCMP advised anyone who may be missing copper wire to call their closest detachment to identify their property.
A similar suggestion recently was made by the Humboldt RCMP after a search of a home in that city found a variety of stolen goods.
Items such as an air compressor, a weed eater, industrial lights, a chainsaw, a socket set, a welding torch, a gas generator, a tire rack and solar panels were recovered. The RCMP couldn’t find the owners of the items, so it invited people who may have lost those things – and could identify them – to contact the detachment.