Trackdown: Help find these Fort Worth copper thieves

FORT WORTH, Texas – Copper theft is becoming a major problem in North Texas.

The thieves sell stolen copper wires to recyclers for a quick buck, but then local residents and businesses are left without internet access and telecommunications companies have to pay to replace the infrastructure.

MORE: FOX 4’s trackdown

In Fort Worth, copper thefts have increased 545% in the past two years.

Just last month, thieves stole hundreds of feet of cable in the 300 block of East Seminary Drive.

“There were three men who congregated in this parking lot and cut this type of wire and segmented it and committed theft of this material,” said Detective Benjamin Wright of the Fort Worth Police Department’s Metal Theft Unit.

A nearby security camera captured video of them and their vehicle in a lighted parking lot.

“Video shows a vehicle they were using. It is an ’06 Ram pickup that is black in color with a headache rack and the paint is off color as if it has been spray painted. And the bumpers were also painted and the wheels were chrome in color and after-market,” Wright said.

The investigator believes the video is so clear that anyone who knows the suspects will recognize them.

Anyone with information about them can contact him at 817-944-1790. Anonymous tips are also welcome.

Researcher Wright said copper thefts have been a serious problem for Fort Worth in recent years.

“It’s very serious. It shuts down businesses for a number of days. It unfortunately affects people who have medical problems and can’t get their life alerts or anything else to work, and it affects the general internet and these days people need the internet.” he said.