The problem of theft of batteries from mobile masts has become widespread in the country. In northern Scania, nine different burglaries in base stations for mobile towers are currently being investigated. But no international leagues are believed to be behind the thefts.
Police officer Niklas Årcène says that one reason for the thefts may be that young people with an interest in cars want to use the batteries to get a better sound in the car stereo.
It is not only in northern Scania that batteries from cell towers have been stolen. Similar cases have been investigated in Dalarna and Värmland. Sales of these batteries have also taken place on the internet, where they are sold for around one thousand kroner each. But for the mobile operators, the value is significantly higher than that, and the thefts can have greater consequences if they coincide with a power outage.
In the player above: Network expert Björn Lindberg on Tele2 talks about which socially important functions are affected when the batteries disappear from the mast.