Three men have been arrested in Saanich as part of a crackdown on copper wire thefts.
Two cyclists “prowling around” businesses in the area of Glanford and Vanalman avenues were spotted by regional crime unit officers early in the morning on Feb. 18.
The cyclists were stopped on Harriet Road, pulling a trailer with a 150-pound 15-metre section of industrial wire. An investigation determined the wire was stolen from an electrical contracting company in the 4200 block of Glanford Ave.
On Feb. 24 two men, a 47 year-old and 41-year-old, were arrested and charged with theft under $5,000.
Two weeks earlier, RCU members watched a man during the evening as he entered a business in the 3300-block of Tennyson Ave.
Officers observed the suspect spend nearly 45 minutes trying to force open a padlock to gain access to a fenced area where equipment and materials — including copper wire — were stored. He was interrupted by a fuel delivery truck.
The man fled on a bike. He was followed and arrested on Burnside near Jutland Road.
A 44-year-old Victoria man faces charges of break and enter with intent to commit, and possession of break-in instruments.
“In an effort to identify those responsible for the recent thefts of copper wire around the Capital Region and to curtail these thefts, regional crime unit officers have been monitoring a number of (residences) frequented by persons well known to police,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen.
Earlier this year, B.C. Hydro reported an estimated $100,000 worth of buried copper wire was missing from Greater Victoria.
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