Thalang police arrested two Thai men last night (June 11) after they were found in possession of more than 30 large batteries.
The batteries were stolen from AIS, DTAC and CAT mobile phone network towers, resulting in the collapse of phone networks during power outages.
The two, Adisak Yoddee, 32, and a 16-year-old, both from Phuket, admitted that they had stolen the batteries from towers on Thalang and elsewhere on the island to sell as scrap.
Each stolen battery would have fetched around B2,500 from a scrap dealer.
The arrests were sparked by complaints from mobile phone users to the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in Bangkok.
The complaints stated that mobile phone networks were frequently failing, especially during blackouts. This prompted the NBTC to demand explanations from the three network operators.
They checked, found the backup batteries missing, and reported the thefts to Thalang police who in turn spread the word to junk shops in the Thalang area.
One of these reported that two men had brought some batteries to sell at his shop. When the pair returned with more, they were arrested.