Benevento, 49-year-old arrested for stealing 30 kilos of copper from Enel power lines

Amorosi – He thought Enel's low-voltage overhead power line, temporarily out of service due to construction work on the Naples-Bari high-speed line, was easy prey. Instead, he found himself with a patrol of Carabinieri from Cerreto Sannita in front of the open hood of his car.

The military, engaged in a targeted operation against copper thefts in the Telesina Valley, yesterday stopped a 49-year-old man from Campania while he was loading two large bundles of cable totaling 30 kilograms into his car, parked on the Fondovalle Isclero state road, in the Amorosi area.

At the sight of the gazelle, the man hastily tried to ditch his "tools of the trade": iron cutting pliers, a rope with a chain and homemade weight for climbing poles, a roll of duct tape, and a headlamp. Too late.

The Carabinieri recovered everything, including the car used in the robbery. The 49-year-old was immediately arrested and charged with aggravated theft. After the proceedings at the Cerreto Sannita police station, he was transferred to the Benevento prison at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office, as ordered by the public prosecutor on duty.

Carabinieri investigators are now scrutinizing his whereabouts to determine if there are any links to the specialized gangs that have been raiding the area's power and telephone lines for months, causing blackouts and delays in construction sites. It's not ruled out that the man arrested yesterday may be responsible for other robberies carried out in recent weeks, also in the Telesina Valley.

On the black market, copper continues to be worth as much as gold: 30 kilos can fetch several thousand euros in just a few hours of "work." A business that, despite constant controls, shows no signs of slowing down.