Copper thieves in Moncton stealing from abandoned homes, city lights and work sites

RCMP are investigating a string of thefts of copper wire across greater Moncton.

Copper wiring has been stripped from street lights and stolen from the construction site of the new bridge linking Moncton and Riverview, N.B. As well, thieves have targeted dozens of abandoned homes in the city.

READ: N.B. RCMP looking for person of interest in copper theft

Moncton Fire Marshal Charles LeBlanc says thieves are even breaking into homes to strip away copper water pipes.

“I would say easily probably 30 to 40 of our vacant properties have been damaged on the inside within the last year,” LeBlanc said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I would say easily probably 30 to 40 of our vacant properties have been damaged on the inside within the last year," LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc says thieves are going as far as snapping off toilets and sinks, while completely vandalizing the properties.

“People go through the whole property by damaging the walls and the ceilings and they will take anything that is brass or copper.”

He says copper is a hot commodity for thieves who can sell it for about $3 per pound at a scrap yard.

RCMP Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh confirmed that on Aug. 23, copper wiring was stolen from the work site of the Petitcodiac River Bridge project.

But police and the province remain tight lipped about how much the thieves got away with.

Tanya Greer, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed in an email that the copper was stolen, but would not comment on how much wire was taken, its value, whether or not it is causing any construction delays or if the loss was insured.

“At this time, we can’t comment further on what is an active investigation,” she wrote.

WATCH: Copper wire thefts lead to power and phone outages

Isabelle LeBlanc from the City of Moncton says there was also incident at the Hall Betts Sports Complex about a month ago.

She says thieves stripped the copper wiring from the lights of the sports field, which the city had to replace.

Meanwhile, in Riverview, 1,100 meters of copper wire was ripped out and stolen along a section of street lights.

The town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Colin Smith, says the price tag to replace it was hefty.

“(It was ) in the range of about $20,000 to $25,000 to go back and put all the wiring back in and any repairs we had to do to the existing lights because of what happened,” he said.