A Collie man caught selling stolen copper has been sentenced to three years and ten months in jail.
The Busselton District Court was this month told Mark Geoffrey Sloan had been stripping stolen copper wire at a remote bush site.
The police investigation started in January, after the theft of copper from Muja Power Station.
They eventually identified at least seven occasions on which Sloan had sold stolen copper to scrap dealers during the previous year.
Sloan was also found in possession of a stolen trailer and a stolen motorbike. He was serving a suspended term of imprisonment at the time of the offences.
During sentencing, the court was told Sloan had 1.3 tonnes of copper wire in his possession at the time of his arrest.
“As to your stealing offence, you stole a significant amount of copper cabling, 150 metres worth, the value of which was approximately $30,000. Only half that property was returned,” the judge said.
“The offence was premeditated, committed ... in the early hours of the morning.”