Image: AbbyPD / Sgt. Paul Walker of the Abbotsford Police Department says criminal acts targeting Telus communication lines throughout the Abbotsford area have caused over $100,000 worth of damage to Telus infrastructure.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Wire theft in Abbotsford

Thieves cause over $100,000 in damage to Telus communication lines in Abbotsford area: AbbyPD

Oct 29, 2024 | 8:20 PM

ABBOTSFORD — The Abbotsford Police Department says criminal acts targeting Telus communication lines throughout the Abbotsford area have caused over $100,000 worth of damage to Telus infrastructure.

According to a statement from spokesperson Sgt. Paul Walker, the AbbyPD’s Crime Reduction Unit continues to investigate what it calls an “uptick” in commercial wire thefts involving Telus utility lines in Abbotsford, resulting in over $100,000 worth of damage to Telus infrastructure. The criminal acts have subsequently interrupted critical 911 and other telecommunication services.

AbbyPD is appealing for public assistance in obtaining dash cam footage from anyone travelling in the area of the two most recent thefts under investigation, which occurred within:

• The 1000 block of McCallum Road (between McConnell Road and Vye Road) on October 17th, 2024, between 5:00 am and 7:30 am.

• The 4500 block of Sumas Mountain Road (between McKee Road and Dawson Road) on Wednesday, October 23 between 4 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.

Wire theft in Abbotsford

Thieves cause over $100,000 in damage to Telus communication lines in Abbotsford area: AbbyPD

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AbbyPD says Abbotsford residents should be aware that all Telus employees or contractors working on overhead telecommunications lines will be operating vehicles and equipment that would be fully identifiable to the organizations they belong to.

Chilliwack had a similar issue involving cable theft just last week. A service outage affecting Telus customers in Ryder Lake, parts of Eastern Hillsides and the Chilliwack River Valley lasted for over 24 hours starting Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22.

Image: Telus / Telus service technician at work last week in Chilliwack following a service outage due to cable theft.

The Vancouver-based company reported on its website that Telus-related services experienced a disruption impacting mobile devices and landline phones. More specifically, the affected services consisted of Telus cell phone voice, data and text; Telus internet and home phone service; Optik TV and Pik TV. and 911 landline. The company attributed the outage to “damage inflicted upon Telus infrastructure (cable theft).”