PATHUM THANI — Three people were arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing copper cable from the railway department in Khlong Luang district to sell for scrap.
Police apprehended a husband and wife from Sa Kaeo — Bandit Tanthong, 53, and Aree Juasuwan, 50 — and 26-year-old Pathum Thani native Rungaroon Poonpoke on a rail-side road in Moo 16 village of tambon Khlong.
The arrest came after State Railway of Thailand officials informed police trackside cable theft in the province had caused hundreds of thousands of baht in damage.
Deputy Khlong Luang police chief Pol Lt Col Karntapon Wanna said investigators launched surveillance operations to locate the offenders and were able to catch the suspects red-handed with a large amount of stolen cable in their possession. They also seized cutting tools, a metal cutting saw, crowbar, hoe and a shovel.
Mr Rungaroon said four times previously he and the other suspects had stolen copper cable and sold it on the scrap metal market. The group earned between 800 and 1,000 baht each time.
Narong Pimthong, a railway officer at Rangsit station, said the trackside cables were buried underground but thieves were still able to dig them up to sell. He appealed to people not to steal the cable as it could lead to train derailments and loss of life.
"If [an accident] happens, the damage will be far more than the money they got," Mr Narong said.
