Civil Guard agents have arrested a couple who left the residents of the towns of Lupiñén and Agüero, in the province of Huesca, without telephone communication, after stealing some 32 tons of copper from the power lines supplying both towns.

As reported by the armed institute, the arrests were carried out within the framework of the Cobrekai operation, which began in November 2022 as a result of the notices given regarding the communication cuts in both towns and the complaints filed last month. March in relation to similar events registered in Castejón de Valdejasa (Zaragoza) and Ayerbe (Huesca).

After the surveillance work carried out, the suspects, a 36-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, residents of Zaragoza, were arrested on the 6th in the Huesca municipality of Concilio thanks to the notice given by a person who alerted of the presence of a “suspicious” vehicle on some roads near a place where copper had been stolen days before, as well as movement in the power lines.

The agents posted to the area located a rental vehicle labeled with the acronyms and data of a mobile phone subcontracting company, and shortly after they observed a person wearing operator clothing from said company and who said he worked for it.

In the search carried out in the vehicle, the agents located protection material, electronic and electrical material, as well as a bag with documentation of a woman that the false operator identified as his cousin.

Contacted with the subcontractor company, its managers reported that none of its workers were at that time carrying out work in that area, neither repairing nor removing the electrical cable.

In the vicinity of the place, the agents found hidden cut copper cable as well as a ladder, a saw and material to cut the metal.

With all the evidence obtained, the agents proceeded to arrest the suspect and later the woman, who was waiting in the square of the town of Concilio.

The total cable stolen amounts to 8,900 meters, around 32 tons of copper valued at around 119,000 euros, not counting the damage caused to the facilities.

To carry out the robberies, the detainees used clothing and even a labeled vehicle that pretended to be a company subcontracted by a well-known telephone company that traveled with several people who pretended to be workers and who dismantled the telephone cable line pretending that they were doing housework. maintenance.

Once the cable was obtained, they proceeded to strip it and burn it in the vicinity of the place, taking only the copper.