In Portugal, mass thefts of electric car charger cables have been occurring, with burglars cutting the equipment to extract the copper they contain. GNR registers about 100 such thefts in a year and a half, although the sector speaks of "hundreds" of occurrences, suggesting that many cases are not reported to authorities.
Setúbal and Lisbon concentrate 72 of the occurrences registered by GNR, but the thefts are not limited to these areas. Reports are multiplying on social media, with posts of vandalized stations across the country, indicating that the problem is spreading to various regions.
The growing demand for copper in the international market has caused the value of this metal to skyrocket, which has been motivating this type of crime. Electric vehicle chargers have thus become attractive targets for thieves, given the value of the copper they contain.
Two men have already been sentenced to prison for these crimes, demonstrating that authorities have managed to identify and prosecute some of those responsible for these thefts.
