This is the moment a gang of brazen thieves were allegedly caught stealing underground cables – just yards from a police station.
In the clip, which has been shared by police, armed officers and their dogs can be seen swarming a manhole in Birmingham city centre.
The gang, who were wearing orange high-vis overalls, were reported to police by members of the public at 7.30pm on Tuesday.
They were spotted allegedly trying to steal cables on Great Charles Queensway, which is located close to West Midlands Police HQ Lloyd House.
Bodycam footage captured the moment officers surrounded the manhole as one of the suspects climbed up the ladder.
One cop can be heard shouting: ‘Police with a dog! Come out no of the dog’s coming in!’
And as he emerged from the tunnel, another officer said: ‘Good evening, keep coming up the ladder.’
Three men, aged 48, 45, and 37, were arrested and a van loaded with cables was seized by police.
On Wednesday, West Midlands Police said in a statement: ‘This is the moment we arrested a gang of suspected underground cable thieves in Birmingham city centre.
‘Firearms officers who were patrolling nearby were flagged down by members of the public as a group of men were trying to steal cables on Great Charles Queensway at around 7.30pm yesterday.
‘Two men were arrested on suspicion of theft and a van carrying cables was recovered.
‘We were made aware of that a third suspect was underground, and officers, with the help of Police Dog Riot encouraged him to climb up the ladder and onto the street, where he was also arrested on suspicion of theft.
‘Three men, aged 48, 45 and 37, remain in custody today.’
Det Supt Dave Sproson, of Birmingham Police, added: ‘This was a fantastic response from our firearms, dogs and Birmingham officers, in bringing three suspects into custody quickly.’
