Police in Tororo have arrested three people for the alleged theft of about one tone of electric copper wires.
The district police commander, George Abaho, has identified the suspects as Joseph Oyuku, Martin Owori, and Julius Osilo.
The suspects were arrested at Aburi zone in Rubongi Sub County while cutting the wires to smaller pieces.
Police also recovered five weighing scales, two axes, electric sockets, and three thick ropes suspected to have been used for climbing poles.
Abaho says the trio would be charged with theft, diversion of energy and damage to supply lines under the 1999 electricity act.
According to Abaho, the sale of electric copper wires has become a lucrative business, with steel rolling industries offering 9,000 shillings per kilogram of copper wires.
Last week, two senior Umeme workers attached to Tororo UMEME branch were arrested and remanded at Morukatipe Prisons for allegedly abetting vandalisation of power cables.
Jackson Muwazu, the Umeme district revenue controller, says that the increasing theft of electric wires has over the past two months significantly affected power supply.
