Two workers among five nabbed for stealing cables from Miri workshop

MIRI (Jan 15): Five men, two of whom were employees, have been arrested in connection with the theft of copper cables from an electrical workshop here.

Miri police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the theft took place on Jan 9, when the suspects allegedly broke into the premises and made off with 300mm four-core copper cables valued at some RM7,000.

“Following intelligence information, police carried out a series of arrests between Jan 10 and Jan 12, resulting in the detention of five local male suspects, aged between 24 and 42 years,” he said in a statement.

Initial investigations revealed that the two employees had allegedly colluded with two others to steal the cables from the premises, while another suspect is believed to have been the buyer of the stolen items.

Police also seized a hatchback car believed to have been used to travel to the crime scene and transport the stolen cables.

“With these arrests, the case has been successfully solved and efforts are currently under way to recover the stolen cables,” added Mohd Farhan.

All suspects have been remanded to facilitate further investigations under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years, a fine, or both upon conviction.

Checks on the suspects’ criminal records found that three of them have prior records involving theft and drug-related offences.

Urine screening tests further found four of the suspects positive for methamphetamine.

Mohd Farhan also called on the public to continue providing information and to cooperate with the police in combating crime.

Those with information can contact the Miri District Police Headquarters operations room on 085-433400.