Late-night encounter on shopping centre roof highlights sinister new trend

Yahoo

28-05-2025

A sinister new crime trend sweeping across Australia, and causing millions of dollars worth of damage, appears to show no signs of slowing down. A 50-year-old man was arrested on Sunday night after police allege he and another man tried to steal copper from a building under construction in Townsville.
Footage released by Queensland authorities shows two officers climbing onto the shopping centre's roof before shining a torch on a man standing in the corner wearing a camouflage shirt and hood. One of the officers is then seen taking photos of a wheelie bin brimming with copper cables.
The 50-year-old is now facing numerous charges, including entering a premises with intent to commit an indictable offence and possessing property suspected of having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence. He will appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on July 4.
Queensland Police have urged anyone with information about the ongoing investigation to contact authorities.
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The latest incident comes just weeks after Dave Dudley, who runs Tidy Up Townsville, stumbled across a burnt-out patch of grass and sand at what he claims was a 'copper cooking' site on the side of a road.
The well-known method involves pouring petrol onto copper to burn and strip off any unwanted materials from the metal, such as plastic or insulation, before it is sold.
Many parts of the country have been grappling with copper theft in recent years, with people stealing it from homes and building sites and selling it to scrap metal dealers who melt and reshape it for reuse.
However, the 'lucrative and attractive venture for thieves' is particularly prevalent in Queensland. In 2023 alone, the illegal act cost the state $4.5 million in damages to the electrical network, with culprits even reportedly dressing as tradies to avoid detection while they make away with live wires.
"We've had instances where copper thieves have taken up to 1,000 metres of cable in one night. That's a significant amount of damage to the network,' Chris Graham, an Energex area manager, previously told Yahoo.
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, the federal government has estimated the annual cost of metal theft is valued at well over $100 million.
Depending on the type and quality, copper can fetch as much as $10 per kilogram. It's been estimated that 90 per cent of all copper theft takes place at night or on weekends.
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