Thieves steal millions in cooper wires from traffic and street lights across Australia as metal prices surge

Australia is in the grip of a national copper heist as thieves cash in on the surging price of a metal which is in hot demand as the world electrifies. Criminals are raiding wiring pits that connect traffic signals and street lights and are targeting communications infrastructure they know will be rich in the red metal. The problem is so acute Telstra is forming a special team to liaise with police and metal recyclers as suspicions grow that organised crime gangs have muscled out opportunistic thieves to corner the illicit market. Main Roads WA has had to replace 750km of copper wire over the past few years, with raids increasing in frequency as the price of the metal rose. The department is spending up to $3 million a year replacing stolen wire. Western Power recorded a four-fold increase in thefts over the past three months. Copper has almost doubled in price over the past 10 years as the world economy electrified. Demand for the metal surged as millions of kilometres of cooper-dominated cable was installed. Copper rose from under $US5000 ($7600AUD) a tonne in 2016 to a peak of more than $US9300 ($14100AUD) a tonne in 2021. It has been consistently trading above $US8000 ($12200AUD) a tonne since then. “The theft of copper wire cabling is a growing issue across Australia and the world,” a Main Roads spokesperson said. “Main Roads has experienced widespread theft of copper cable across the network, with the Metropolitan Region impacted the most. “In the past five years, around 750,000 metres of copper cable has been stolen from Main Roads wiring pits, affecting approximately 100 kilometres of Metropolitan roads and paths. “Main Roads is working with WA Police to investigate various methods to capture and prosecute cable thieves. Police have had some success in this area in recent years, with several people being arrested as recently as a few months ago.” Telstra regional general manager Boyd Brown said the telco was grappling with “a significant international issue”. “Telstra works closely with police across Australia to help catch offenders, and nationally there have been over 140 arrests for copper theft from our sites in the past two years,” he said. “The impact of copper theft on customers can be significant, and despite our best efforts to repair and restore services quickly, businesses, individuals and critical community services can be disconnected for hours or days. It also requires us to divert work crews to restore services, delaying us from resolving other customer service issues. “Telstra has committed to a dedicated copper theft prevention team, which works closely with all police agencies across Australia and trusted partners in the scrap metal industry to catch and prosecute offenders. “We encourage anyone seeing any suspicious activity near our facilities to contact Police immediately.” Western Power, which runs the State’s network of poles and wires, is enhancing physical barriers around copper-rich assets. “Western Power has seen a sharp increase in the number of copper theft incidents this quarter, with 67 incidents occurring, representing a 290 per cent increase on the previous two quarters,” a spokesperson said. “Security of the network is paramount to ensure the safe and reliable supply of electricity to the community. “Interfering with network assets is extremely dangerous. It poses a significant safety risk to offenders, the broader community and Western Power crews and can cause significant disruption to critical facilities and services across the State. “To safeguard our assets, Western Power operates a multi-faceted robust security program aligned to industry best practices, employing a range of physical measures and advanced technologies to identify and respond to any potential threats or incidents including 24/7 live CCTV surveillance coverage and monitoring, asset tracking technology, mobile security detection and monitoring assets and enhanced physical barrier systems.” WA Police said the agency was “actively targeting copper theft across Western Australia”. “Licensed second-hand and scrap metal dealers are legally required to record the identity of anyone selling scrap copper or copper alloys,” a spokesperson said. “Community information plays a vital role in these investigations. Members of the public are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to police on 131 444 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestopperswa.com.au.”