Two people have been charged with stealing 350m of copper telecommunications wire, weighing more than 700kg.
Officers were called to Riverhead Rd in the Auckland suburb of Kumeū on October 14.
There, they said they found two people stealing copper by recovering, cutting, and processing stolen telecommunications cable.
“Investigations established that about 350 metres of copper telecommunications cable had been unlawfully removed from a utility hole located on Koraha Rd," Detective Sergeant Luke Blignaut said.
The cropped telecommunications cabling weighed 740kg.
Blignaut said the estimated cost to repair the damage was more than $20,000.
“In addition to the financial loss, offending of this nature has the potential to cause widespread communications outages, affecting residential and commercial customers and potentially impacting access to emergency services.
“The risks associated with attacks like this are significant, which makes this result, and the ongoing focus on this offending, particularly important.”
A 53-year-old man and 42-year-old woman have been charged with theft and will reappear in the Waitākere District Court at a later date.
"Enquiries remain ongoing and further arrests are not being ruled out."
Police urged residents to be vigilant around their properties and secure items that may include copper.
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