Two Indonesian migrant workers riding bicycles were found to be carrying copper wire hidden in burlap bags, allegedly stolen from their workplace, when they were spotted at a Kaohsiung police checkpoint.
The two men, both aged 33, left separately from the iron and steel plant on Yingkou Road in Siaogang District on electric-assisted bikes, but soon attracted the attention of police because of their heavy loads.
One of the men was stopped at an intersection with Yingkou Road and police seized three bags of bare copper wire, the Taiwan Times reported. The other man was arrested between Songping Street and Songhua Street, and also had two bags of the same wire.
Police said the wire, which had a combined weight of 177.8 kilograms, was valued at more than NT$20,000 (US$654).
According to an account given to police, the men had sent their entire wages back home to Indonesia and decided to steal the wire so they could make some money on the black market.