Gardai have arrested a number of men in connection with the theft of ESB overhead power cables across the country, including here in Tipperary.
The five men were arrested as part of an operation involving Gardai attached to the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau assisted by local gardai from Kildare and the Garda Air Support Unit.
The arrests were made at Rathdangan, Co Kildare.
The five men were detained at Naas and Leixlip Garda Stations. Two have since been released without charge and the other three are charged in connection with the theft of ESB overhead power lines. Two cars were also seized in the operation.
This operation was part of an overall investigation into the large-scale organised theft of live electrical cable throughout the country over the past number of months. Those involved climb electrical poles and cut large amounts of copper wire which they then sell on.
A number of thefts of this type have been reported in Co Tipperary in recent times.
