By Ashley Perham, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and officers from several other law enforcement agencies are investigating the theft of tons of telecommunications wire that has caused outages for thousands of Frontier Communications customers.
At a news conference Wednesday, Kanawha Chief Deputy Joe Crawford said his organization alone has received more than 30 complaints related to the theft or destruction of public utility cable this year.
Other agencies have received a similar number of complaints.
Recycling companies involved
Thieves sell the wire to recycling companies, who can pay over $12,000 in cash. The thieves often use this money to support drug habits, Crawford said.
Two Kanawha County companies, Freedom Recycling in Charleston and London Recycling in London, were searched this month, resulting in the collection of about two tons of the wire, all in different stages of being stripped.
More cable continues to be recovered, but Crawford couldn’t say exactly how much had been stolen.
6 counties affected
Utility companies are the only businesses that use this type of copper telecommunications cable, Crawford said, so recycling companies should know that they are buying stolen material.
The wire is used for telephone and internet services, and the thefts have resulted in interruptions to 911 service, in addition to personal and business disruptions.
