Police recover stolen copper wires in Portmore
ST CATHERINE, Jamaica— The St Catherine South Police recovered hundreds of feet of copper wire during an operation in Portmore, St Catherine, on Thursday, June 2.
Reports are that about 4:30 am, a police team was summoned to the Silverstone community in St Catherine, where several men were seen removing manhole covers in the area. The police say they coordinated their efforts and responded to the assignment where they saw a Toyota Probox motor car. The driver fled the scene in an attempt to elude them, however, the vehicle was subsequently found abandoned.
Closer inspection of the vehicle revealed that it was filled with black cable wires used by telecommunications companies. A further search of the community resulted in the recovery of three additional rolls of cable along the roadway.
According to head of the St Catherine South Division, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Christopher Phillips, this is the second such incident in less than a month, where the police managed to interrupt the theft of cable wires, which are a critical part of the communication infrastructure.
“We have stepped up our vigilance and have commenced investigations into this seemingly organised attack on our telecommunications network. This kind of criminal behaviour will only set us back and stymie our communities, so let us alert our police in a very timely way when these things are observed,” stated SSP Phillips.
He also used the opportunity to appeal to residents to be very vigilant in protecting the infrastructure within their communities.