KUALA LUMPUR: Five men, including a Pakistani, have been arrested in connection with the theft of cables from LRT3 stations, which were under construction.
The five suspects are all contractors who had access to the construction sites.
The losses have been estimated at over RM2.5 million.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the suspects, aged between 32 and 41, were picked up in Shah Alam and Damansara between 6.30pm and 9pm on Thursday.
"Raids were conducted at LRT3 construction sites at Jalan Persiaran Raja Muda, Section 2 and Persiaran Dato Menteri, Section 14 in Shah Alam as well as Kayu Ara Damansara.
"We also seized a Nissan Sentra, six mobile phones and a set of keys," he told a press conference at Bukit Aman today.
He said investigations revealed all the suspects worked as contractors for the LRT3 project and had access to the construction sites.
"These suspects will steal the cables at the construction site by taking them out using a specially-rented lorry.
"The cables will then be cut and sold to scrap metal shops around Klang," he said, adding that the group had been active for almost a year.
He said the project owner estimated losses of RM2,506,500 due to the cable theft.
"Checks revealed that the cables stolen were meant for grounding purposes.
"Our checks revealed that 15 police reports have been made on the thefts so far," he said, adding that the suspects are currently being held at the Shah Alam Police Centralised Lockup, and the case is being investigated in accordance with Section 431A of the Penal Code and Section 379 of the Penal Code," he said.