MANY of Jamaica’s law enforcers are not aware of it yet, but thieves have been stepping up their game of stealing cables from leading telecommunications firms, then swapping them for guns, an investigation by the Jamaica Observer has uncovered.

For several years, the guns-for-drugs trade has been flourishing between criminal elements in Jamaica, the suppliers of drugs, and Haiti, the much larger French-speaking territory that has more guns than sand on the seashore, as described by one fisherman in an interview some years ago. Now, the drugs have an equally expensive competitor.

Stealing of cables, classified as scrap metal by those involved in the industry, is becoming commonplace at a time when the companies that use the item, like Flow, now merged with LIME; Digicel; and to a lesser extent media organisations are under considerable pressure.

The organisations largely use copper cables as part of their apparatus, with LIME in particular having around a 90 per cent copper-based cable layout.

The much-sought-after copper material in the cables is used in the making of bullets for the illegal guns-and-ammunition trade, the Sunday Observer has learnt.

Haitians who pose as fishermen are involved in the practice as, apart from being among the main suppliers of guns to the Jamaican market, they often collaborate with individuals from other territories to deliver guns to them at an agreed location, then make their way, usually by boat, into Jamaican territorial waters with their goods.

After dropping off their weapons, usually handguns, they then have the option to take either drugs, or the cables — the latter going directly toward the making of bullets.

The Sunday Observer was also told that more illegal bullet-making machines landed in Jamaica within the last nine months and are being used to produce ammunition for the criminal underworld, but this could not be confirmed by security authorities.

Only last week, LIME said that it had lost several million dollars worth of material to thieves, who made off with expensive cables, in the process disrupting normal service to customers in the north-eastern section of the island.

LIME’s Communications Manager Elon Parkinson confirmed to the Sunday Observer that the stealing of cables was still a major concern for the telecommunications company, but expressed ignorance in regard to what the stolen cables were being used for.

“We are unable to confirm what happens to our cables once they are stolen,” Parkinson said yesterday.

“Over the past 10 years, theft of our cable has cost us over $500 million. Last year alone we lost $80 million to cable thieves, and so far this year we have had to replace about $30 million worth of cable which were stolen,” Parkinson said.

Police sources, while admitting that the practice was a reality, shied away from giving much information when the Sunday Observer sought to flesh out the matter days ago.

Few said that they were aware of it, while others said it was new to them.

“This is another new thing being done by the criminals. Before you know it, the practice will become too big for the country to handle and our telecommunications system will always be in trouble,” said a senior police officer based in rural Jamaica.

Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, Clifford Blake told the Sunday Observer that it was something that should not be ignored.

“I heard about the practice about three weeks ago in a discussion, and I have since tried to follow up with some of my senior officers who said they were not aware of it,” Blake said.

“I have not heard of it since, but it is something to pay attention to… in other words, to keep your ears on cock,” Blake added.

One industry official said that Jamaicans need to co-operate with the police in trying to eradicate the practice of cable stealing, as though it usually affects the big companies in the pocket, the broader picture of people being inconvenienced, sometimes in life-threatening situations, had to be a concern.

“You can cut off a community from the rest of the country, as happens so often, and if there are medical or security emergencies, then the people of those affected communities suffer.

“There could be an emergency and people want to contact the hospital, yet there can be no communication. Also, if the police want to make urgent calls and there is no landline service at the station, by the time the officers go on their cellphones, their credit run out and the problem is not solved. These people steal without mercy,” the official said.

“Why is it that the companies are losing so much cables to thieves? What do they do with these cables? Are they just passing them on to the companies that purchase scrap metal or is there something else involved?” the official asked.

Another high-profile industry official is concerned that the continued stealing of cables will affect productivity and Jamaica’s ability to attract investment.

“Your telecommunications infrastructure must be able to stand up if an investor is to put his money in the country,” the official stated.

“If an investor wants to put up a factory on a lonely road, for example, and then he is told about the possibility that his cables may be cut, he is not going to want to invest, as communicating with customers is key to any business.

“We are suffering. We are having a hard time keeping up. Sometimes when they steal from us, you not just have to replace the cables, but change the equipment, as they get damaged when the cables are being taken away,” the official added.

St Catherine is said to be one of the prime parishes for the stealing of cables, in particular the towns of Spanish Town, Ewarton, and Bog Walk.

Recently, two men were held stealing items from a cellular site in Westmoreland, while two other men were nabbed by police in St Thomas with cables that belonged to Flow. Police said that the men were from Spanish Town.

Recent theft of cable lines in Port Maria, St Mary, north-east Manchester, and Priory in St Ann, has added to the already unbearable headache being felt by the telecommunications companies.