Case of men charged with stealing copper wire referred to High Court

Reynold Young and Mario Davis will have to wait a bit longer to know their fate.{{more}}

On Tuesday, Chief Magistrate Sonya Young referred the matter from the Serious Offences Court to the High Court.

Both men were arrested and jointly charged with stealing 32 pounds of copper wire from a cargo vessel anchored off Lower Questelles Bay. Davis is also facing a separate charge for damaging the said cargo vessel on March 12, 2012.

The issue of stolen copper has been one of concern, particularly for the authorities at this country’s electricity company, VINLEC, who claim that persons have been stealing the metal from the electricity system.

In the March 26 sitting of Parliament, Dr Douglas Slater, Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that in 2011, over 3.6 million kilograms of scrap metal, with a value of EC$1.946 million had been exported.

Of that figure, 13,000 kilograms of copper was exported at a value of $238,000. (DD)