KUWAIT CITY, April 18: Security forces in Surra made a significant breakthrough by apprehending a group of four expatriates involved in the theft of copper cables from the Ministry of Electricity. The operation uncovered stolen goods and equipment utilized for theft and cutting purposes. Thanks to seamless coordination between Surra Police Station and Rawda police officers, further quantities of stolen items were unearthed. A substantial portion of these pilfered goods was en route to a processing facility in the Khaitan area, where they would be refined and then sold off as raw copper.

A fifth individual, implicated as a receiver of stolen goods, was also apprehended, reports Al-Anba daily . The quartet’s modus operandi involved masquerading as Ministry of Electricity personnel, donning workers’ uniforms to carry out their illicit activities. Their scheme was uncovered when Surra Police Station offi- cers noticed a suspicious bus parked adjacent to a Ministry of Electricity site. Upon investigation, they encountered one individual by a tent resembling a manhole, who claimed to be accompanied by three others conducting official duties underground. However, upon closer scrutiny, their residency permits categorized them as Article 20 holders, raising suspicions.

A subsequent search of the bus revealed 13 sizable cables, each three meters in length, sliced in half by the perpetrators. Interrogations exposed the gang’s elaborate ruse, admitting to months-long thievery under the guise of legitimate employment. The stolen cables, fetching approximately 1,000 dinars each, were sold to a complicit fifth party, responsible for melting the copper down for resale. Upon notification, Capital Security Director Brigadier General Suleiman Al-Jarrah, along with his deputy Brigadier General Talal Obaid, swiftly initiated measures in tandem with Criminal Security and the Ministry of Electricity. A raid on the illicit processing den yielded a cache of stolen goods valued at approximately 60 thousand dinars. Although the Ministry of Electricity sought to reclaim the stolen items promptly, legal protocol dictates that the seized goods remain under the jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution until investigations with the accused conclude.