Two men were arrested on Tuesday for a list of offenses, but part of the case against them was possession of 140 feet of copper wire.
The men came to police attention when a patrolling Mountie spotted a defective vehicle being driven in the vicinity of 3rd Avenue and George Street. The RCMP member pulled the 1994 blue Ford Explorer over.
"The driver did not have a valid driver's license and the vehicle was not insured," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. "The investigator located a substantial amount of commercial grade wire in the vehicle as well as a small quantity of marijuana and some jewelry. The jewelry included a pearl necklace, a gold necklace and some wrist watches. Some of the jewelry was still in boxes."
The vehicle and its contents were seized and the two male occupants - aged 26 and 30 - were arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime.
It was not long ago that the same two had the attention of police in similar circumstances.
"The same two suspects were located on July 2 on Melody Road in Shelley, burning the casings of copper wire," Douglass said. They were also in possession of two industrial radiators, all of which were seized by police."
Charges have not resulted from that incident, but the investigation is still open.
It is not known if these two are responsible for any other copper wire going missing, including the stuff taken from Blackwater Road overnight Monday/Tuesday.
"What was stolen from Blackwater Road was telephone cable, and this was different, it was heavier-duty, very thick with a bunch of copper wires inside a corrugated aluminum casing," Douglass explained. "We would be remiss if we did not now consider them as possibly involved in other incidents of copper wire theft, that's just due diligence."
Both suspects were released on a promise to appear for provincial court in September.
