CALGARY -- Two people were caught in the act breaking into an oilfield site near the southern Alberta community of Didsbury this week.
RCMP say they were called to the scene, five kilometres west of the town, after reports of a theft in progress that was spotted on live video.
Officers attended the scene and arrested two people, seizing a number of illegal items in the process.
Mac Ronald Smith, 38, of Clearwater County, Alta., is charged with:
- Break, enter and theft;
- Theft of copper wire over $5,000;
- Possession of break-in instruments;
- Possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine); and
- Failure to comply with release conditions et al.
April Dawn Sanford, 36, of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., is charged with:
- Break, enter and theft;
- Theft of copper wire over $5,000;
- Possession of break-in instruments;
- Possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine);
- Failure to comply with release conditions; and
- Two counts of failure to comply with a probation order.
Police say investments by oil companies are becoming increasingly helpful in preventing crimes on these isolated properties.
(Supplied)
"Oil companies have been installing sophisticated security systems which was instrumental in the apprehension of these suspects," said Staff Sgt. Chad Fournier, Didsbury RCMP, in a release.
Both Smith and Sanford have been released and are scheduled to appear in Didsbury provincial court on April 26.
