Copper thieves steal $80,000 worth of wire from westside business

A westside Atlanta business that sells electrical equipment wholesale was the recent victim of one of the city’s largest copper wire heists.

During the two-day crime committed during the weekend of Nov. 3-4, thieves managed to sledgehammer their way through a double brick wall and make off with 181 spools of wire from City Electric Supply.

According to a police report, a City Electric Supply manager said that on Saturday, Nov. 3, thieves managed to crawl under a fence at the rear of the property located at 1450 Northside Drive. After using a pole to push a surveillance camera upward, they blasted open a 4x3 foot hole in a double brick wall to gain entry into the business.

According to the incident report, the manager indicated that the wire had been delivered the previous Friday and the burglary was “committed by someone familiar with the camera system and the business.”

A City Electric Supply representative estimated the theft to be worth $80,000.

Thieves sell copper to scrap yards and metal recyclers for big money. As of Nov. 8, copper was $3.45 per pound according to a statistical chart on Informine.com. Last year, local law enforcement agencies formed the Metro Atlanta Copper Task Force to help combat the growing crime.