BEIRUT: The theft of electric cables continued in several parts of the country, despite the arrest last week of a gang allegedly involved in perpetrating similar offenses.

The National News Agency reported the theft of about 1,100 meters of copper, worth LL6 million, from electric cables in the upper Metn village of Salima. Also, 200 meters of copper cable were taken from the road linking the village of Kfar Dan to Baalbek. In the south, 300 meters of electric cable was hauled off by thieves causing power outages in the Nabatieh village of Kfar Milkeh.

Last Friday, police arrested a gang suspected of copper theft in south Lebanon and recovered stolen wires from their cars and homes in the Sarafand villages of Roum and Anan.

Electricite du Liban has issued repeated warnings that cable theft is on the rise. The company announced last year that theft represents close to 30 percent of its losses.