Northam detectives charge two men as part of ongoing operation into CBH copper wire thefts

Northam detectives have charged two men as part of an ongoing operation targeting a spate of copper wire thefts from CBH grain receival bins in the Wheatbelt. The men were arrested early on the morning of Thursday May 2 after officers swooped on the Piawaning CBH site, 30km north-east of New Norcia, where they found a “suspicious” Holden ute. Police said one of the men in the ute — a 38-year-old Coodanup man — tried to run away but was arrested after a short chase. The driver — a 33-year-old Mandurah man — also tried to flee but failed to when the ute hit a culvert, police said. It’s alleged police recovered several grinder discs the Coodanup man had tried to dispose of while trying to escape. It’s also alleged officers found stolen copper wire in the ute’s tray. Police also attended a scrap metal business in the Mandurah area where copper wire and cable were seized — allegedly after the Mandurah man sold them to the business. Both men have been charged with criminal destruction, trespassing, stealing, and possession of housebreaking instruments by night. The Mandurah man was also charged with nine counts of property laundering. Both appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on May 3 and were refused bail. The Mandurah man is due to reappear later this month, and the Coodanup man in mid-June. The arrests come after Wheatbelt detectives used overt and covert intelligence-gathering techniques in response to a series of thefts at CBH bins, including a report of large-scale copper theft at the Calingiri site. The Wheatbelt district office’s Det-Insp. Jason Beesley applauded the officers involved in the arrest, which he said was important for both CBH and the growers who relied on the grain bulk handler’s sites for their cropping operations. “The recent crime activity targeting CBH Group has the potential to impact the many farmers in our community who rely on CBH to store and out-turn their harvested crops,” he said. “I commend the detectives and local police for the arrests that have been made, which represent a significant development in what is an ongoing operation.” CBH group head of operations David Paton called the collaboration between the grain handler and police “exceptional”. “Copper theft from our sites is a significant issue — not just the cost of fixing the damage, but the serious safety risk perpetrators expose themselves and our site teams to,” he said. “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the WA Police, in particular the efforts of police in the Wheatbelt district.” Mr Paton said CBH had now engaged external providers to strengthen security controls at CBH sites.