Four Arrested Over Theft of Batteries from Broadband Cabinets in Kent UK
The Kent Police‘s Rural Task Force this week arrested four suspects – three men aged between 37 – 57 and a 14-year-old boy – in connection with the theft of batteries from “telecoms boxes” (i.e. street cabinets used by broadband providers) and a large number of cables from across the South East of England.
A number of network operators put batteries in street cabinets, such as those used to house certain broadband services (e.g. Openreach’s hybrid fibre FTTC service). Each battery can cost around £500 and they usually kick-in during power outages. But unfortunately such equipment, along with valuable copper telecoms cables, is often targetted by criminal gangs.
However, the perpetrators of such crimes don’t always get away with it, particularly if they keep returning to the same area. In addition, networks operators like Openreach and Virgin Media are now coating more of their cables and network equipment with an “invisible” synthetic DNA and UV liquid tracer, called SelectaDNA, which makes finding and arresting those linked to such thefts a bit easier (here).
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In this case, officers from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force traced a vehicle suspected to be linked to the theft of batteries from telecoms boxes around the South East to a location near Gillingham on Monday 7th October 2024. The investigation ultimately recovered more than 100 batteries, along with a lot of cables, the vehicle itself, a trailer, a vehicle engine and several heavy power tools. The police are currently in the process of trying to determine the origin of all the materials, and hopefully we’ll help a bit by publishing some of the pictures.
Four people have thus been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal and bailed while enquiries continue. Anyone who has information regarding the theft of telecoms batteries or cables and has yet to report it to police is urged to call Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/168070/24. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete the online form on their website.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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It’s unusual to open a DSLAM cab and find batteries still inside
They’ve been probably targeting the new ones only.
SelectaDNA useless as usual.
Hopefully as the transition to FTTP is completed and the old scrap copper is extracted there will be less opportunity for this type of crime. Sooner the transition completes the better.
Cabinets will be required for FTTP with the exchange closure program
not all that many, as I understand it. the Openreach FTTx networks are already built around the exchanges that they wish to retain, with remote OLTs only being used sparingly.
the main problem will be with the corner cutting altnets who plonked everything in the street.
@Ivor, in my area for FTTP they’ve built three new to replace three old VDSL ones in the future.
Yum…. a skip full of rhubarb!
Okay, say it with me: We need to make these boxes dangerous for people to open unless they’re authorised, make it electrocute them, do something
Improvised claymore mine?
Maybe if a little thought about who had access to the keys in the 1st place would of prevented this becoming such a big issue.
Oh well, that train left the station a long time ago. Security at BT has never been a strong point
Criminals don’t need to use.. keys.
“Criminals don’t need to use.. keys”
The thing is …. They do. Never seen a DSLAM cab forced into, but seen many with no batteries (stolen)
What a terrible suggestion. Thankfully you’ll never be asked to be involved in the design of cabinets. You should be ashamed.