Rhen Eric Francis Soden sentenced for selling stolen copper from Saraji mine site

A father-of-four has faced court after selling more than 100kg worth of copper parts stolen from a mine site. See why his solicitor said he was influenced by his family.

A father of four who has a 17 page long criminal history was back before the courts facing charges for stealing copper parts from a mine before selling them to a recycler. Picture: Wikipedia/ Estelle Sanchez

A father-of-four blamed ‘bad influences’ in his family after being caught selling more than 100kg of ‘bright and shiny’ copper, freshly stolen from a mine.

Rhen Eric Francis Soden, 35, admitted to selling stolen copper to a recycler twice in 2023 in the Proserpine Magistrate Courts.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors said the first theft had been reported at an address on Dysart Middlemount Rd on June 1, 2023.

The padlock on a shipping container had been broken into, with two rolls of 50m copper strapping stolen as well as two rolls of copper wire.

Soden had then gone to Dysart Recyclers the next day selling 52kg of ‘bright and shiny” copper wiring and 67kg of bright copper strapping which he got paid $950 for.

Sergeant Myors added that the owner of the recycler business had asked Soden if the copper parts had been stolen from the Saraji mine, to which he had replied no.

The Moranbah Criminal Investigation Branch conducted a search warrant at the Dysart Recyclers on June 2 and found the copper parts as well as a large quantity of burnt dragline cabling.

That was tracked back to a theft from the Saraji mine site on March 27.

Ms Myors said an informant had reported to police 100 metre high-voltage dragline cabling had been stolen from the mine site.

They had located a cut of saw at the scene and staff at the mine also found a large quantity of burnt dragline cabling in areas on Lake Vermont rd.

Rhen Eric Francis Soden was sentenced for receiving tainted property.

When interviewed by police, the court heard Soden said he had been asked by his dad to drive him and pick up metal scraps, and his dad had “reassured” him that it was legitimate.

About the Saraji incident, Soden had told police that the owner of the recycler business had asked him to pick up burnt cabling on Lake Vermont rd.

Soden also said to police that he went on two separate occasions with his dad and another man and that he had collected “a few thousand dollars” for it.

High voltage dragline cabling was stolen from the Saraji mine site. Picture: Wikipedia

PD Law solicitor Elizabeth Smith said Soden, originally from Dysart, had been “in and out of custody since 2014’, but that it was linked to bad influences in his family and friends and that he had distanced himself from them.

She said that during that time in 2023, he had gone back to visit family in Dysart and started using drugs again and getting involved in property offences.

She told the court that since being arrested, he had stopped using drugs and had been able to provide police with several negative drug tests in the past few months.

BMA's Saraji Coal Mine near Moranbah.

Acting Magistrate Michael Bice told Soden he had quite a “shocking history”, and that it was “disappointing’ that he was still offending.

“Given your history, you know where this is gonna go,” Mr Bice said.

Sergeant Myors told the court that the two stealing charges were dropped and that the two counts of receiving tainted property solely remained to be dealt with.

Soden pleaded guilty to the charges in front of the Proserpine Magistrates Court.

He was sentenced to a term of seven months imprisonment wholly suspended for a period of 18 months.