A gang of thieves who were caught red-handed stealing £50,000 worth of underground cables in Birmingham city centre have been jailed. The theft knocked out communications for thousands of people in the area.
The trio were arrested after sophisticated alarms, designed to detect tampering with the cables, were triggered. Openreach, which operated the cables, immediately called 999, and firearms officers who happened to be nearby quickly arrived at the scene.
Marian Agarlita, 37, of the Isle of Wight, Sorin Condrache, 45, and Aldafin Poenaru, 49, both of Montague Road, Smethwick, were all arrested at the scene. Agarlita initially refused to come out from the underground chamber before his arrest. They admitted theft and were each sentenced to three years in prison at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
West Midlands Police stated that around 5,000 customers in the area suffered interruptions to their phone and internet connections due to the theft. The cables cost an estimated £50,000 to replace, but the cost of weeks of overnight repairs was far greater.
PC Charlotte Gurrey, who led the investigation, said: “The gang were clearly skilled, organised, and a significant amount of planning went into their efforts to steal communications cable that night. Agarlita initially refused to come up, and there were discussions about having to close and dig up part of the street so that whoever went down to bring him out was not at risk from damaged cables or any gas that may have leaked. They showed a complete disregard for the knock-on impact on communication within the city, but swift work from officers who were nearby and the company who called 999 after the alarm was triggered meant they were quickly arrested and have now been jailed.”
Robin Edwards, from the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP), said: “Metal crime is a blight on our communities, industry and has a significant impact on our daily lives. Sections of the scrap metal sector operate outside the law, damage the legitimate sector, which is unacceptable and damaging to business. These operators have been identified as disposal routes for stolen metal and provide an outlet for criminals to convert stolen property into money funding other types of criminality. This type of blatant and organised criminality is unacceptable and the NICRP works closely with the police, local authorities, and our partners including the legitimate scrap metal sector to combat this type of crime. We work with our partners through our extensive network to challenge those who choose to flaunt the law, turn a blind eye to what they buy or are happy to engage in criminal activity. They should be aware these types of operations are on the radar of enforcement agencies.”
An Openreach spokesman said: “Cable theft causes real harm. When phone and broadband services are taken out, it’s not just frustrating - it can leave vulnerable people without the support they rely on. Putting things right isn’t quick or easy. Our engineers have to be pulled away from other vital work, repairs can take weeks, and the cost runs into thousands of pounds. We take protecting our network seriously. We use a range of security measures to deter theft and help catch those responsible. Every incident is investigated by our specialist security team, and our network is monitored 24/7 from our control centre. That’s why we’re pleased to have worked closely with West Midlands Police and local partners on a joined‑up approach that’s delivered a positive result.”
