A van containing a kilometre of phone line has been seized by gardaí in Co Laois.
The seizure was made yesterday after the van was discovered in a field, following a garda response to reports of suspicious activity near Stradbally at around 9.50pm.
A garda divisional task force arrived at the location and found the abandoned van containing 1km of phone cable at Rathmore.
The vehicle and property was seized and a garda helicopter was brought in along with ground units in a bid to locate the suspects.
There were no arrests but gardaí say are following a definite line of enquiry.
Last week gardaí asked people to be vigilant following an increase in reports of the theft of phone lines from roadside locations across the midlands.
The thieves appear to be targeting phone lines for their copper content.
In Laois and Offaly, gardaí said they have recorded 14 incidents of phone line theft in recent weeks.
The incidents were sporadic in nature across the division, they said.
Gardaí asked members of the public to be alert and report any suspicious activity to their local garda station.
