Ontario construction business, communications tower latest targets of copper theft

Global News

3 days ago

The Ontario Provincial Police say a local construction business and a communications tower are the latest sites to be targeted for copper thefts.
Police said there was a 'significant theft of copper wire' from a construction yard in Temiskaming Shores, just north of Sudbury.
Officers responded to the yard on July 11 but police said the theft happened sometime between July 6 and 11.
Police found a substantial quantity of copper wire was removed from heavy machinery that was stored at the back of the construction yard, including multiple rock crushers and conveyors.
The value of the stolen materials is estimated to be more than $40,000, police said.
However, police noted the total loss is expected to be higher once repair costs and machinery downtime are factored in.
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Meanwhile, police are also looking into two separate incidents of copper theft from a communications tower in Corbeil, just outside of North Bay, early on July 14 and on July 16.
Police said the tower is situated within a fenced compound secured with padlocks and chains.
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'Upon inspection, the enclosure was found unsecured, and the locking mechanisms were missing,' police allege.
Police said the tower stands between two buildings that has cables running up from both structures and that the cables 'appear to have been cut using a power tool.'
'It is believed that the tower was then climbed and the opposite ends of the cables were also severed,' police allege.
Anyone with information on either incident, including suspicious sightings or activity, is asked to contact police.
In relation to the communications tower copper theft incident, police said there is a possible cash reward of up to $2,000 for information.
2:02
Rising copper wire theft frustrate Alberta utility providers, homebuilders and police
Copper theft on the rise in Canada
Earlier this month, four Ontario men were charged after 33 hydro poles cut down for their copper in a rural area of Ontario.
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Police in Durham Region issued a warning in May about copper thefts happening from air conditioners and heat pump units in Oshawa. Police said they had received 22 reported incidents since the beginning of the year.
Telecommunications companies such as Bell Canada and Telus said they have noted an increase in copper thefts.
Bell Canada said copper thefts has grown at an 'astronomical rate' over the past few years in Canada and that a large portion of the thefts are happening in east end of the country.
Telus reported a 58 per cent increase in 2024 from 2023 in the amount of copper thefts in Alberta. In Edmonton specifically there was a 238 per cent increase in copper thefts.
Bell Canada says copper theft has grown at an astronomical rate over the past few years in Canada, with a large portion of the thefts occurring in the east end of the country.