METAL thieves broke into a North Vancouver construction site recently and made off with a haul of copper wire that would stretch 15 kilometres if laid end to end.
"It's a ton of wire," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesperson for the North Vancouver RCMP.
The spooled wire - which had been delivered to the Polygon Homes job site in the 100-block of Chesterfield Avenue just days earlier - was on 52 rolls measuring about 30 centimetres wide by 30 centimetres high.
The spools were locked in a storage area of the unfinished parkade when they disappeared over a weekend, despite the presence of on-site security guards.
De Jong said thieves cut the lock to gain access.
The wire is worth about $12,000.
De Jong said it's likely that whoever took the wire knew where it was. "Obviously somebody saw it being delivered," he said. "It's a fairly big site."
High prices for copper are continuing to fuel a boom in thefts of copper wire. The wire either gets sold to another tradesperson or to scrap recyclers. To sell to recyclers, thieves first have to burn off the insulation, letting off toxic black smoke. That's usually done at night, said De Jong.
Anyone with information about the copper theft can call the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
