Four individuals were arrested yesterday, suspected of carrying out copper-wire theft, worth around 1,000 euros, but causing 40,000 euros in damage to obtain it.

The four men, all from Eastern European countries, allegedly carried out the theft on January the 30th, 2023, breaking through a perimeter fence protecting the Emasagra wastewater, treatment plant on the Camino de Purchil in Granada.

According to the provincial prosecutor’s indictment, they riped out copper wiring from an underground duct. However, not satisfied with this first haul, they returned to the scene to drain the fuel tanks of parked lorries of their diesel. This second part was their downfall because they were spotted by a security guard.

The guard phoned the Policía Nacional, describing the thieves’ white van. The thieves had also panicked and left behind the containers for the diesel… with their fingerprints all over them.

The police got their fast in time to see they fleeing and a chase began through the streets of Granada, with the thieves speeding across the junction between Calle Arabial and Méndez Núñez with the lights in red.

Another patrol car intercepted them by blocking the street and knabbed them – two of them had tried to hide under a blanket but the were found.

The stolen copper-cable was recovered and the tools used to cut the fence were confiscated as evidence.

The public prosecutor recommends five years & four months in prison for each of the four alleged perpetrators for the crime of breaking & entry, theft, plus a further 12 months for the driver for reckless driving. Lastly, the public prosecutor also recommends that the thieves pay the full 39,883 euros that they caused in damages.

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Thieves Caught Stealing Copper Cables, Water Recycling Plant, Calle Arabial, Méndez Núñez