Five arrested in connection with overhead powerline theft

Gardai arrested five men in connection with the theft of overhead power cables in Co Kildare this morning.

Gardaí attached to the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau assisted by local Gardaí from Kildare and the Garda Air Support Unit carried out an arrest operation in Rathdangan at 4.40am this morning.  Garda also seized two cars during the operation.

The men were detained at Naas and Leixlip Garda Stations, two have been released without charge and investigations are continuing. The three other men have been charged and are expected to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin tomorrow morning. They are charged in connection with the theft of ESB overhead power lines in Rathangan Co Kildare.

Investigations have been carried into the large scale organised theft of live electrical cable throughout the country, over the past number of months. The modus operandi of the group involved was to climb electrical poles and cut large amounts of copper wire over a period of several hours.

Last month live overhead lines were cut down between Tullamore and Moutmellick resulting in a power outage. Gardai were alerted and discovered the cable before it could be removed.   

The thefts have resulted in power outages to large sections of the country; it presented a serious danger to the public and resulted in millions of euros worth of damage to ESB power lines. To-date this year  142km’s of power lines have been stolen at a replacement cost of €4.6million.