‘They need to be stopped’: Copper thieves busting internet connections, leaving thousands without power and costing SA millions

Copper thieves are targeting phone towers, churches and footy clubs and killing the internet for thousands - so why is this theft rising now?

Weeks SA site supervisor Wade Symes at a residential building site in Alberton where copper was recently stolen. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Copper theft is costing the South Australian economy tens of millions of dollars a year as the issue caused a network outage for thousands of northern suburbs residents again at the weekend.

Tougher laws proposed in February to tackle the increasing problem have sparked a last-minute spree among thieves desperate to take advantage of the scrap metal industry’s lack of regulation, a leading construction chief executive says.

Alleged copper thieves were this week arrested for targeting a Telstra site at Munno Para and a property at Loxton North, while last week two cable vandalism incidents at Elizabeth caused internet outages for thousands in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

Copper is a semi-precious metal, fetching up to $12.55 per kg according to online listings for Adelaide scrap metal buyers – compared with just $0.12 per kg for steel.

Weeks SA chief executive Peter McIndoe said his company’s construction sites were targeted at least once a week by thieves searching for copper cables and pipes, costing the business “well in excess of six figures per annum”.

He said about a month ago, six houses in one of the company’s developments at Virginia were hit in one night, noting it happened soon after the government proposed new laws to regulate the scrap metal industry.

Weeks SA site supervisor Wade Symes at a residential building site in Alberton where copper was recently stolen. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“Apart from the cost to our business, it’s the inconvenience to the customer, because we need to get trays back to do that work again, and that delays people,” Mr McIndoe said.

SA Police Assistant Commissioner John De Candia said while the problem affected several industries, construction was the worst hit, especially in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, which is undergoing a building boom.

“I think ultimately we’re all affected and we all end up paying, through increasing prices for building costs,” he said.

Mr De Candia said thieves were targeting the train network, with cable theft in July 2023 causing significant inconvenience to passengers – in addition to public safety risks.

He said SAPOL stepped up its efforts to fight the problem through Operation Alchemy over a six-week period in January and February, making 28 arrests or reports, after copper theft increased over the 2023-24 financial year.

Customers of network provider TPG lost internet about midnight on Sunday. By 4am, a technician had identified a fibre had been cut near Quondong Ave

Two hours later, another fibre cut was identified and repair efforts were underway.

A TPG spokesman said “these cable crooks are callously disrupting essential communications services in their pursuit of greed”.

“They need to be stopped,” he said. “This deliberate damage to the cable is under investigation and has been reported to the police.”

Services were restored “gradually” throughout Sunday.

Last Thursday, police arrested three people for allegedly stealing copper at a Telstra site in Munno Para after Telstra reported “unauthorised activity” detected through its network monitoring system.

A Telstra spokeswoman said copper theft was a significant international issue for all service companies, costing Telstra millions of dollars a year and requiring the company to employ a dedicated copper theft prevention team.

Copper items allegedly stolen from an Olympic Dam business in March. Picture: Supplied

Copper items allegedly stolen from an Olympic Dam business in March. Picture: Supplied

She said police had made more than 100 arrests for copper theft from Telstra’s sites in the past two years and 19 in South Australia over the past six months.

Last week, thousands of customers in Adelaide’s northern suburbs suffered extended internet outages after suspected vandalism to TPG Telecom fibre cables at the Telstra Exchange on Phillip Hwy at Elizabeth.

Last month, thousands of Telstra customers lost phone service twice in a week after vandals cut a fibre optic cable, with copper theft blamed.

A Master Builders SA report from December estimated copper theft cost the state $70m in 2024.

No copper is out of bounds for the perpetrators who have reportedly targeted churches, memorial plaques and community sporting clubs, hitting Flinders Park Football Club five times in 2023.

Earlier this month, a search was underway for two men who allegedly stole metal items from an Olympic Dam business. The incident was reported after the men did not deliver the items to an expected destination.

A person faced Berri Magistrates Court over the Loxton theft, charged with criminal trespass and taking property, and was refused bail.

Two people were bailed in Elizabeth Magistrates Court over the northern suburbs arrest, charged with damaging property and taking property.

The state government’s proposed new laws to reduce copper theft would require scrap metal dealers to be registered, proof of ID from its suppliers and to upload transaction details to a digital portal.