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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- After months of investigating, Colorado Springs Police Department's Scrap Metal Theft Task Force caught a break when William Matuska and Bruce Williams were pulled over at Aeroplaza Drive and East Fountain Boulevard.

CSPD helped Colorado State Patrol with the Sunday morning traffic stop, where Matuska was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license. When his car was being searched the trooper found back-flow valves and tools to cut large pipes. Matuska and Williams have been linked to more than 50 cases locally with more than $150,000 in damages.

The Task Force has been investigating the duo for several months and had been preparing search and arrest warrants for both suspects.

"These guys are tenacious in going in and removing this stuff, and as long as there's a value with it there's a risk someone will come and steal it," Sgt. Steve Noblitt with the Colorado Springs Police Department said.

The folks at Colorado Industrial Recycling pay anywhere from $2.85-$3.45 for clean copper. While they focus on commercial scrap metal they still have tons of people trying to make a quick buck.

"We're pretty good about record-keeping, and I think that's getting around, if you bring us stolen stuff we're not going to not report it," Brandy Burns with Colorado Industrial Recycling said.

When it comes to making money on stolen copper the recycling plant has a plan. They take a copy of every customer's identification, a photo of their product, and a photo of the person at the cash station. But if that's not enough, they're in contact with the Task Force once a week.

"We've seen a significant increase in copper theft in Colorado Springs, street lights and public parks have been targeted," Noblitt said.

This isn't the first big copper theft arrest, and it probably won't be the last, but it's a move in the right direction. In December, police arrested three men for stealing millions of dollars worth of copper. Police also investigated a string of thefts back in June of 2008.