Copper wire stolen at Cavendish Farms

Three cases of copper wire theftin the past three weeks from the Cavendish Farms plant in New Annan are being investigated by P.E.I. RCMP.

The latest incident happened overnight Wednesday, when someone made off with 107 metres of copper wire worth about $5,000, which was attached to the grounding system for the biogas plant.

"It was used to ground equipment in the event of a lightning strike or power surges or something like that," said Blackadar.

If the theft hadn't been discovered, it could have placed employees at the plant in jeopardy, said Sgt. Andrew Blackadar.

The person who stole the wire also could have been killed, he said.

"It is very dangerous and the individual or individuals responsible for the theft climbed up the catwalk, which was fairly high, and actually walked past a very high-voltage power line that had about 132,000 volts of electricity in it," said Blackadar.

"They came very close to it and, of course, had they touched it, it could have caused serious injury or even death to the individual involved."

Security video is being reviewed.

RCMP are asking anyone who might have seen any suspicious activity to call police or Crime Stoppers.