Gang of thieves stole SIX MILES of copper wiring worth £700,000 bringing down telephone services and hitting the rail network

THE STOLEN CABLES

A gang of thieves stole nearly six miles of copper cables causing more than £700,000 worth of damage, a court heard today.
Christopher Cruz, 33, and his crew ripped the wiring from train tracks and telephone lines during a four-month crime spree across London, Hertfordshire, Essex, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire in 2011.
Five members of the gang, consisting of six men from in Basildon, Essex, were today sentenced to 12 years in jail.
The gang carried out their night-time raids between May 1 and August 30, 2011, stealing six miles of cable, weighing 31,654 lbs, from Network Rail alone.
They used a van to rip underground cable out through manholes as well as cutting down live overhead cables near to railway lines across south England.
Attacking cables armed with circular saws, hacksaws and nail removers, the crew would wear high-visibility jackets in order to pose as workmen, even placing a yellow flashing light on top of their van.
They also cut off thousands of British Telecom landlines by chopping away hundreds of metres of cable at a time, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.

‘The consequences go beyond simple theft, and pose a significant detrimental effect on the operation of the national railway network,’ said prosecutor Richard Beynon.
‘The delays and disruption divert human resources from work elsewhere to carry out repairs, and financial cost for replacing the cables is significant.

‘Also, stealing the copper earthing cable from the stanchion supporting a high currency system can mean the stanchion itself could become live, with obvious huge dangers to those nearby.’

Mr Beynon said up to 1,000 BT customers were affected in one hit, leading not only to inconvenience but potentially putting people who live in remote areas in danger as it rendered them unable to contact emergency services.

One incident saw some 2,700ft of copper cable stolen from BT, affecting 400 customers.
Describing an attack on the rail line through Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, on May 25, 2011, Mr Benyon added: ‘Network Rail received reports of a fault and small line-side fires. About 1,000 metres of cable had been stolen.’

The gang were stopped after repeatedly targeting train lines in Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, and Spellbrook, in Hertfordshire and Boreham and Billericay, in Essex.
They also took trips further afield, staying together in a Travel Lodge in Leicestershire to carry out midnight raids.
The gang would often cut up the cable on site and sold most of the copper to a scrap metal dealer in Barking, Essex.
Passing sentence this afternoon, Judge John Hillen called the thieving crew a co-operative, saying he did not see any of the men as a leader.
Judge Hillen said: ‘This was one of the largest series of railway thefts ever undertaken to investigate by the British Transport Police.’
He said the gang were made up of ‘hitherto petty thieves’ but because of the disruption caused, he must pass immediate prison sentences as a deterrent to others.

Mr Cruz, who has 14 previous convictions was picked out as a leading participant and jailed for three years and nine months.
Simon Scott, 45, another main player and the most prolific criminal of the group with 46 convictions for 108 offences, was jailed for three and a half years.
Bill Lee, 50, is already serving a four and a half year prison sentence for crimes dating back to 2002, but was only imprisoned upon his arrest in 2011 after nine years on the run.
He was jailed for two years today, to run consecutively to his current sentence.
Kris Kreuder, 36, a recovering heroin addict who worked as a ceiling construction worker with Cruz, was jailed for 16 months.
Shaun Nembhard, 44, the gang’s lookout, was sentenced to serve two years and three months behind bars.
The sentencing hearing for John Michael Newton, 36, will be heard on March 22.
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