MUMBAI, March 19 -- In a city where dug-up roads and construction machinery have become a routine sight, a gang allegedly exploited the chaos to run a lucrative copper cable theft racket right under the public's nose. What appeared to be routine repair work near the Vasant Oscar building on LBS Road in Mulund West turned out to be a well-planned heist. Acting on a late-night tip-off, assistant police inspector Vijay Pawar of Mulund police station and his team uncovered a gang posing as workers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) who were allegedly stealing underground copper cables. Nine people have been arrested while four key accused managed to flee. According to police, the gang's audacity was striking- the accused carried out the operation openly on the roadside using heavy machinery and labourers, banking on the assumption that passersby would mistake it for legitimate infrastructure work. Police said the accused went to great lengths to make their operation look authentic. They wore reflective safety jackets, put up "work in progress" boards and even placed reflective road triangles to mimic official repair work. A Hydra crane and a tempo were stationed on the road while labourers pulled out cables from an MTNL underground chamber. "The accused used to pose as MTNL contractors claiming they were carrying out repair work. To appear genuine they wore jackets and installed work-in-progress boards," said a police officer. The police team reached the location in the early hours of Tuesday and found the group actively pulling out cables from the MTNL chamber. Thirteen people were present at the site when the police arrived. However, the alleged masterminds, identified as Shafiq, Ismail, Sourabh and Deepak, fled from the spot. Nine others were arrested, most of them labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar. "We seized a Hydra crane, a tempo, cutters, reflective jackets, a work-in-progress signboard and the stolen cables," said Muulund senior police inspector Ajay Joshi. Investigators say the rising price of copper has made telecom infrastructure a prime target for theft. Scrap copper prices in Mumbai markets have recently touched nearly Rs.1,200 per kg, pushing up incidents of infrastructure cable theft by nearly 30%, according to police sources. The accused allegedly travelled to Mumbai, stole cables during the night and transported them to Delhi where they would sell the copper scrap. "In one operation they would steal copper cables worth Rs.50 lakh to Rs.1 crore," a police officer said. The arrested accused have been identified as Nehal Sayyad, 48, Mohammad Isrul, 20, Hakram Mohammad, 21, Abhishek Mahato, 22, Ahad Alam, 40, Mohammad Raja Ansari, 30, Mohammad Murshid Ansari, 29, Sanjay Mahato, 38, and Sanjay Kumar Shah, 42. Police said the gang had also been carrying a sword. An FIR has been registered under Section 310 (dacoity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Arms Act. The arrested accused have been remanded to police custody until March 20, while teams are searching for the absconding suspects....