Eleven individuals were arrested after they were caught burning cable wires worth P2.2 million, believed to have been stolen from an internet provider, in Purok Malogo, Brgy. Concepcion, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, July 14.
The suspects who are residents of Talisay City, Kabankalan City, and Iloilo, were apprehended by responding operatives from the Regional Maritime Unit–Negros Island Region (RMU-NIR).
Authorities were acting on a report of cable theft in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, and later received a tip about a group burning cables in Talisay.
Upon arriving at the scene, the police caught the suspects in the act of torching a pile of cable wires owned by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), allegedly to extract the copper inside.
Confiscated from them were approximately 1,800 pairs of 0.4-gauge PLDT cables, with an estimated value of P2.2 million.
The suspects are now detained at the Bacolod City Police Station 4 and theft charges will be filed against them.
The RMU-NIR said that charges will also be filed against them for violating Republic Act 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act, for the open burning of materials.*