Six Romanian citizens were arrested in Germany, being accused of having committed a series of large-scale thefts from solar parks, in a context marked by the sharp increase in the price of copper. According to the Central Franconia police, the suspects are part of an organized gang specialized in stealing copper cables from the energy infrastructure, the German press notes.
Investigators claim that, in the last three months, the group committed at least eight burglaries in solar parks in several regions of Germany, causing hundreds of thousands of euros in damage. The criminals are said to have consistently targeted the copper cables of the photovoltaic installations, stealing up to 80 kilometers of cables in total.
The six suspects, aged between 23 and 37, were caught at the end of January following a new break-in at a solar park in the Lampertheim area in southern Hesse. In one of the vehicles used by them, the police discovered a large amount of cables, probably stolen, whose value is estimated at several hundred thousand euros. Arrest warrants were issued on all of them on suspicion of aggravated theft in an organized gang.
The arrests come after a period in which thefts from solar parks have intensified in several German states. Recently, similar attacks were reported in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. In the commune of Lobbach in the Rhein-Neckar district, unknown thieves broke into a wind farm and cut about 50 copper cables, causing damage estimated at 100,000 euros. Another case took place in Neukirchen-Vluyn, in the Wesel district, where cables were stolen from a photovoltaic park.
According to the authorities, the sharp increase in the price of copper has turned the energy infrastructure into an attractive target for networks of thieves. The investigation in the case of the six Romanians continues, and the police are checking whether they may be involved in other thefts committed in solar parks in Franconia and in other areas of Germany.
