West Van police arrest three in fibre optic wire theft

West Vancouver police are recommending charges against three people after they were nabbed in the middle of the night, allegedly trying to steal fibre optic cables worth thousands of dollars.

Police received a call from a resident around 4 a.m. July 26 who reported hearing power saws in the vicinity of the 4000-block of Almondel Road, just below Highway 1 in West Vancouver.

When officers arrived on scene, they found evidence of someone attempting to steal commercial fibre optic wiring, said Sgt. Mark McLean.

Officers brought in a police dog, which quickly located three people hiding nearby, said McLean.

A vehicle associated with those people also contained evidence of wire theft, he added.

Wire theft is an ongoing problem in the Lower Mainland, including on the North Shore, said McLean, owing to the value of the metals in the cables.

Some larger scale wire thefts can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth, he added.

Three people – a 21-year-old woman from Maple Ridge, a 29-year-old woman from Surrey, and a 27-year-old man from Langley – were arrested at the scene. Police are recommending charges of theft over $5,000 and mischief over $5,000.