Copper wire theft costing Calgary industry millions

Theft of copper wire and other metals for scrap is costing Calgary businesses millions of dollars every year, police say.

One of the most recent thefts occurred at the CBCs transmitter station in southwest Calgary.

Thieves stole almost a ton of copper wire from the facility, said Mike Toffelmire, who manages the station.

"We had two contractors here and they noticed the end of the wire flew up in the air...Then they noticed the guy crouching behind it and he had just finished his cut, so he was running across the field, hacksaw in one hand, his piece of cable in the other," he said.

Police in Calgary have an investigative unit dedicated to the growing problem of metal theft.

The amount of money being siphoned off in scrap metal could be as high as $20 million per year, said Acting Staff Sgt. Jason Bobrowich.

"These types of offences are driven by the high market value of metals across the world," he said, noting that the price of copper has gone up 400 per cent in recent years.