LIME reassured by guilty plea for cable theft

The recent guilty pleas of two men for stealing its copper cables has given telecommunications firm, LIME, reason to hope there will be a reduction in future incidents as the company's new anti-theft system fulfils its intended purpose.

On Friday, March 14, Richard Graham, 18, and Daniel Gunter, 20, of Greenwich Town, St Andrew, pleaded guilty to larceny and malicious destruction of property in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court, days after they were caught by the police cutting LIME's copper cables along Third Street in Newport West.

The police seized a large quantity of cables the men had removed from a utility pole. The cable cuts affected telephone services to several customers in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, LIME is thankful for the high level of public understanding in the aftermath of the deliberate burning of its core transmission cables a few weeks ago.

The incident which took place on Friday, March 14, shortly after 4 a.m., in the vicinity of the Ferry Police Station in St Catherine, affected several telephone services in Portmore and Spanish Town for several hours. Some of LIME's corporate customers, including the National Commercial Bank (NCB), were affected by the malicious act.

Supportive public

Describing the response as "encouraging", LIME's Corporate Communications Manager Elon Parkinson commented, "It came as a bit of a surprise to us that so many Jamaicans cared enough about the impact of vandalism upon our network that they called our offices, sent messages, or stopped staff members in public to express regret about the incident while affirming their support for the brand. Some even went further to indicate they will be on the lookout for suspicious activity around our equipment."

He added, "This, along with additional security measures and increased vigilance from the police, gives us good reason to hope for a reduction in incidents of theft and vandalism of our assets in future."

Recently, the company implemented a number of security initiatives which resulted in the arrest, charge, and conviction of several persons for stealing its copper cables and equipment.

LIME is reminding the public to report suspicious activity around its telecommunications infrastructure to 922-HELP (4357) or call the police at 119.

For more on LIME's activities, check out Corporate Coffee Mornings with Barbara Ellington at www.gleaner-jamaica.com, then click on videos.