A man in his 60s caught for stealing and selling hundreds of fire hydrant nozzles from apartment complexes

Fire Hose Nozzles Stored at Fire Hydrants Stolen from 8 Apartment Complexes
Nozzles Are Metal Devices That Direct Water Toward Fire Spots
Theft Motivated by Higher Market Value of Fire Hose Nozzles Compared to Regular Scrap Metal

On the 29th, the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station arrested a man in his 60s who stole and sold a fire hose nozzle.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Joo-eun Lee] A man in his 60s who stole hundreds of fire hose nozzles from fire hydrants while visiting eight apartment complexes in downtown Gwangju and sold them to a scrap dealer was arrested by the police.

On the 29th, the Northern Gwangju Police Station announced that they had urgently arrested Mr. A (61) on charges of habitual theft and others.

Mr. A is suspected of stealing about 490 fire hose nozzles stored in fire hydrants from eight apartment complexes in Buk-gu and Seo-gu, Gwangju, from the 18th of this month until recently, and selling them as scrap metal.

It was revealed that he committed the crime targeting the fact that fire hose nozzles made of alloy materials such as copper and brass are traded at scrap dealers at prices 7 to 8 times higher than ordinary scrap metal.

The police also booked the scrap dealer who purchased the fire hose nozzles from Mr. A on charges of receiving stolen goods and recovered about half of the stolen quantity.

The police are investigating whether Mr. A committed additional crimes and requested a thorough investigation from the fire authorities to check if there are any damages in other apartment complexes in the Gwangju area.

The police plan to apply for an arrest warrant for Mr. A due to concerns about reoffending and flight risk.

Earlier, multiple theft suspicion reports were received that the ‘fire hose nozzles’ of indoor fire hydrants disappeared from several apartment complexes in downtown Gwangju, prompting the police to verify the situation.

The nozzle, a device connected to the fire hose that sprays water, is a metal device designed to be held by hand and aimed at the fire source to easily spray extinguishing water in case of fire.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.