DOHA - The Ministry of Interior has urged construction and contracting companies to put night watchmen at their upcoming projects saying that the incidence of thefts of expensive cables from such sites is on the rise.
The ministry said in a release yesterday that sleuths from its Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have recently rounded up three members of a gang, all of them Asians, which is involved in a number of thefts of electrical cables.
The cables contain costly materials like brass and copper. The thieves take the plastic coat off a cable to sell the thick metal and alloy wirings.
A number of thefts have occurred recently at upcoming building sites, particularly in areas which are remote and away from residential localities.
"We have put public security personnel on patrol duty in several areas. They are especially vigilant during late nights and early mornings, but the owners of the projects need to be cautious and should take security measures on their own," Colonel Musfir Ali Al Ahbabi, Director of CID, said in the release.
He said that his department got a tip-off recently that three seasoned thieves from Asia had joined hands and formed a gang to carry out thefts of expensive cables at construction sites.
Particularly vulnerable are projects which are close to completion and where ducts and wirings are being installed.
After the department got the information about the trio, strict vigil was mounted and the gangsters were followed. They were sighted at a construction site in Al Maizer suburb of Doha late one night and caught red-handed.
On interrogation, they confessed to having committed a series of thefts and even led the investigators to a site where they had pealed the cables off and stalked brass and copper wirings for packing. The stolen materials have been confiscated.
The CID is also keeping a track on the outlets which trade in cables and cable materials. Shop owners are advised not to buy any such material without being sure that its source is genuine, Al Ahbabi said.
Legal action will be taken against those who are found associated with the thieves in any way by facilitating buy or sale of stolen cable materials. Articles 367 and 368 of Law Number 11 empowers the law enforcement agencies to initiate legal action against people or outlets who buy such materials, said the official.
© The Peninsula 2007
