Indian police have arrested an employee at state-owned telecoms company Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) in relation to copper theft.As reported by various local media outlets, including the Hindustan Times, Vinod Yadav, 54, has been arrested after allegedly providing confidential information to a criminal gang that has targeted copper network infrastructure across the city.Police state that Yadav, who worked as a clerk-cum-supervisor, provided the gang with precise locations of underground cables laid by MTNL.In recent months, MTNL has laid underground cables across the city worth an estimated ₹5,000 crore (US$522,000). However, a large amount of these cables have been stolen by these gangs.His arrest came after police arrested four men on June 30, when the group was impersonating laborers hired by MTNL while digging along Vasant Marvel Road near the Magathane Telephone Exchange in Borivali.The quartet was named by police as Saheel Shakil Sah, 20, Abdul Siddique Ahmed Shaikh, 38, Rizwan Malik, 20, and Mohammad Afzal Hasan Khan, 35.When the police arrested the four men, they seized around 985 meters of underground MTNL copper cables worth around $40,000, plus machinery and tools and vehicles to transport the cables.The gang has been slapped with charges including sections theft, mischief causing loss to public property, and fraudulent procurement of telecom identifiers.It was during the investigation that one of the accused named Yadav and another man, Manoj Gupta, 54, as part of the operation, which led to both being arrested.“He used to show them the precise spots from where copper cables could be stolen. The accused used to then steal the underground cables with the help of JCBs and dumpers,” said Navnath Dhavale, deputy commissioner of police (detection) at the crime branch.MTNL hasn't commented publicly on the arrest of Yadav or the theft. The Hindustan Times reports that more employees at the telco are likely to face questioning.The high value of copper makes it an attractive asset for criminal activity, with multiple incidents reported across the globe. Notably, in the US, carriers such as AT&T are grappling with the issue on a regular basis.